Has Your Subconscious Been Manipulated?

In the 1950’s, the public was scared that they were being “brainwashed” subconsciously with advertising and movies. Today, people are paranoid that messages are being transmitted with commercials of which they are not conscious. Is someone manipulating your mind? Sometimes, there are “hidden” images in advertisements that are said to appeal to the subconscious mind. Most of the time, these images are words or sexual references. Although there are many sources on

this topic, two effective websites addressing the subject are http://www.poleshift.org:16080/sublim/ and http://psychcentral.com/psypsych/ Subliminal_messages. Each site provides important yet diverse information.

Poleshift.org

Loaded with examples of subliminal advertising, this website takes the viewer from small to large scale examples of hidden meaning and images in advertisements. This site was created in August 1998, but updated in May 2005. While the original content was collected seven years ago, the site has been kept up to date and current with additional information or examples, many occurring after the site was first published. Although the creator, Professor Michael D. Robbins, is not involved with part of an organization or group, he is related to a major university. He offers substantial information about himself. The bibliography is also extensive, and Robbins provides plenty of support and citation for all his evidence. All extra links for additional information are active and provide useful details about subliminal advertising.

This website is extremely well laid out. The main page provides links for each subsection of the site. It progresses with the mind of the viewer, starting with the basics and moving to more in depth, multi-layered examples. This develops the reader’s knowledge about the subject with descriptions as well as examples supported by explanation. At any point in the exploration, the reader can click on a link to take them back to the main page, or continue with the session. With subject matter like “Subliminal Advertising”, visuals, pictures, and examples are extremely important to justify viewpoints and opinions. The website stays focused on the subject matter, not deviating from the main purpose of the site. With very few distractions like advertising banners, pop-ups, and elaborate background pictures, it is easy to concentrate on the theme of the website. Even the tone of the author throughout the website is questioning towards the reader, asking them what they see instead of telling them what is supposed to be there. This way, each person can come up with his or her own conclusion about each advertisement rather than have the author’s beliefs imposed upon them with his diction. Also, most of the link headings are interrogative statements instead of declarative ones. This makes the viewers wonder, and grabs their attention more than a boring statement would, making them want to read further. For example: “What’s An Advertiser to Do?” and “What Happened Before & After”.

The site obviously agrees that subliminal advertising exists. The website said something very interesting about the “Official Story” behind subliminal messaging in advertising: “Subliminal advertising doesn't exist. But if it does, it doesn't work. But if it does, it's not a problem. But if it is, it doesn't matter. But if it does, ignore it.” The second source doesn’t seem to agree with this statement

Psychcentral.com

This website was created by an established organization and contains information from a well known encyclopedia. Last updated July 20, 2005, the information has been kept recent and up to date. John M. Grohol, Psy. D. has made his personal biography available, along with addition references having to do with this website for psychology and mental health facts. This psychological database contains information on numerous topics, ranging from eating disorders to abuse to parenting. The multitude of information available from this website makes it both credible and versatile. There are extensive sources and additional books or sites for more information about the subject of subliminal messaging.

This website is very scholastic in design, with simple colors and many links. Most of the information provided is very factual, academic, and educational. The main words are defined, and there are no pictures or visuals; everything on the page is words! It offers background about the subject so that the reader will fully understand the psychological aspect of subliminal advertising as opposed to examples of subliminal advertising. A good definition of a subliminal message found on this site would be “a signal or message designed to pass below...the normal limits of perception. For example it might be inaudible to the conscious mind (but audible to the unconscious or deeper mind) or might be an image transmitted briefly and unperceived consciously and yet perceived unconsciously.” The site provides sub-topics such as “See Also” (letting the viewer read about topics related to their topic), “External Links”, and “References”.   These let the viewer go more in depth in their subject matter, allowing them to gain more knowledge about subliminal advertising. This website’s tone and purpose is didactic, but disagrees that subliminal advertising exists.

In the “Validity” section of the site, it says that there is no evidence that subliminal advertising actually exists, or that it has been used on a large group of people. From a scientific standpoint, this source provides a large amount of information about the topic, but for a curious reader or passing conspiracy theorist, it provides no examples or pictures. The site discredits the idea of subliminal advertising, saying that it does not exist in today’s world.

How can the public determine whether they are being subconsciously spoken to by advertisements? The answer is: they can’t. The whole idea of subliminal messages is that you are unaware that you are aware. Perhaps you are being influenced by commercials...or perhaps the whole idea is in your head. Either way, there may be a hidden message, connotation, innuendo, or word in all the things you see. Each of these websites approaches subliminal advertising with a different view. They both present the same idea with contrasting methods. To catch a subliminal ad, all you have to do is look carefully.