subliminal advertising?

[JohnRoberts]

In 1974, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a public notice defining subliminal advertising as: ‘any technique whereby an attempt is made to convey information to the viewer by transmitting messages below the threshold level of normal awareness’ (see Public Notice Concerning the Broadcast of Information By Means of ‘Subliminal Perception’ Techniques, 44 FCC 2d 1016, 1017 (1974)). The same policy statement provides:

We believe that use of subliminal perception [technique] is inconsistent with the obligations of a licensee, and we take this occasion to make clear that broadcasts employing such techniques are contrary to the public interest. Whether effective or not, such broadcasts clearly are intended to be deceptive. (Id.)

Contemporary thinking is that subliminal advertising is ineffective and, if used, a form of deceptive advertising. In the current version of the FTC’s ‘Advertising FAQ’s: A Guide for Small Business’ (Advertising FAQ's: A Guide for Small Business), the FTC states that ‘it would be deceptive for marketers to embed ads with subliminal messages that could affect consumer behaviour. However, most consumer behaviour experts have concluded that such methods aren’t effective.’

I thought subliminal ads were old news back in the 70s, and popular wisdom was that they didn't actually work. If they did work, they would be everywhere, but I guess if they were really subliminal how would we know.

Late last night while I was watching a cliche ridden ROMCOM on my DVR so I could skip ads with fast forward I thought I saw something odd.... I backed up and single stepped one video frame at a time and found it. There was a one frame ad for "lume" that butt crack deodorant that is a heavy TV advertiser. The one frame ad was a URL something like Lume.com.

There was dark(black) frame immediately before and immediately after. I doubt many people register an advertisement that only displays for one frame (1/30th second).

Inquiring minds want to know?

JR

 

[pucho812]

Bad editing?

 

[JohnRoberts]

Bad editing?

it could be a computer brain fart, I doubt humans edit the commercials into programming. It must be automated. Odd that it was exactly one frame?

JR

 

[Soundwaves]

That sounds a bit like the concept of speed reading. The mind can take photographs of the information. Similar to passing billboards at 70 mph.

It is surprising how much the mind will retain. And speed reading does work, just takes all the fun out of reading

 

[cyrano]

I remember (EMI?) research that used modulated white noise to fortify other means of advertising. It was tested in UK movie theaters and these techniques were extremely effective when tested. In fact, EMI decided not to publish parts of it.

This was before the internet existed. I tried to find it on the net, but failed.

 

[living sounds]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subliminal_stimuli

 

[Tubetec]

This stuff appears to be well studied ,
and why wouldnt it be ,
Even more relevant and usable now with the internet ,
How can we be sure the AI wont manipulate us polically for its own end , maybe its happeneing already , it tries to corrale you into a headspace ,where it feels like everything you do is of your own volition , but is it really ?
its a clever turn on the magicians force trick ,

Imagine Im a cinema owner , I sell drinks and popcorn at vast profits ,
I strategically place subliminal product placement frames in the program , I can easily count the takings on the till , if it improves sales ,why wouldnt I do it , imagine in a horror movie , people are on the edge of their seats , the drama climaxes , peoples mouths are dry , you flash up pics of a bubbling glass of coke and buttered pop corn and they'll come like manchurian candidates sure thats its of their own free will is leading them , but in reality they've been hooked,lined and sinkered .

Its no wonder EMI's research went away ,
this ruse working is predicated on people not knowing how these thing can be used to subconciously effect our decission making .

 

[cyrano]

How can we be sure the AI wont manipulate us polically for its own end , maybe its happeneing already , it tries to corrale you into a headspace ,where it feels like everything you do is of your own volition , but is it really ?

AI doesn't do things on it's own. Yet. It still needs someone to tell it what to do. I'm sure they're already queuing in some circles.

its a clever turn on the magicians force trick ,

Imagine Im a cinema owner , I sell drinks and popcorn at vast profits ,
I strategically place subliminal product placement frames in the program , I can easily count the takings on the till , if it improves sales ,why wouldnt I do it , imagine in a horror movie , people are on the edge of their seats , the drama climaxes , peoples mouths are dry , you flash up pics of a bubbling glass of coke and buttered pop corn and they'll come like manchurian candidates sure thats its of their own free will is leading them , but in reality they've been hooked,lined and sinkered .

Its no wonder EMI's research went away ,
this ruse working is predicated on people not knowing how these thing can be used to subconciously effect our decission making .

Well, it was ice cream that was tested. Subliminal advertising, comprising of only pictures doubled sales of ice cream. Supporting it with modulated white noise more than doubled it again. On it's own, modulated noise patterns could make people sleepy, or aware, or even give them a headache.

I suspect EMI deemed it too valuable to use it out in the open. The question is: "Who did they sell it to?" And who else developed the same tech? It's not as if the soviets weren't interested.

My previous FM car radio had a strange audio effect. Whenever the news came on, I could hear an almost subsonic drone pulsing. The new one doesn't have it. I checked with radio tech friends if it was something the station was doing. They told me it wasn't. At least, as far as they knew.

 

[Bjorn218]

Given the fleeting nature of such ads, I've always been sceptical about their effectiveness. The consensus in marketing is that while subliminal messages can catch attention, their impact on consumer behaviour is still debatable.

In my experience, particularly in digital marketing, overt and transparent advertising strategies are more effective. Tools like AdSpy software have been instrumental in understanding contemporary advertising trends. It allows me to see my competitors' campaigns, providing insights into practical strategies that are far from subliminal. Such tools help adapt and refine advertising tactics to align with current market dynamics and consumer preferences.

 

[jBam]

The question is John: how many butt crack deodorants have you bought since?