SUBLIMINALS HAVE AN IMMEDIATE EFFECT ON 80% OF PEOPLE
Since the first experiment conducted by James Vicary in 1957, the effectiveness of hypnotic messages in advertising has been hotly debated. A CIA investigation of subliminal messages suggested that “Certain individuals can at certain times and under certain circumstances be influenced to act abnormally without awareness of the influence”. Because of this, subliminal cuts were banned, so it has never been possible to verify Vicary's original claim one way or the other. Until now.
*To commemorate its 50th anniversary, the Vicary experiment was replicated at the International Branding Conference, MARKA2007 as part of the Hypnosis, Subconscious Triggers and Branding presentation by Hypnotherapist and IDM Fellow Jim Brackin. The 1,400 delegates watched the opening credits of the movie PICNIC into which subliminal messages had been placed at six second intervals. Then, the delegates were asked to choose between two fictitious brands. One brand 'Delta' had been suggested using the subliminal messages and the other 'Theta' had not.
When choosing between the two brands, 81% of the audience chose 'Delta' in preference to 'Theta'. This is a convincing substantiation of Vicary's results. “Even though this technique is 50 years old, and there are more sophisticated techniques being used in advertising today, this demonstrates the powerful influence of subliminal messages” said Brackin. “The subliminal cut was the mother of all hypnotic techniques and today her children walk all around you. They are everywhere, in posters, press advertising, on the radio and the T.V. They are the legal siblings of a banned parent.”
Real life examples were then shown of the three most common hypnotic techniques used in advertising today. Each example was chosen because of its spontaneous recall amongst the public and its ability to dramatically increase sales. They included the most watched advert on youtube in 2007, the Cadbury 'Gorilla' and the greatest ad ever as voted by Channel 4 viewers as the greatest ever, the Guinness “Surfer” .
*To commemorate its 50th anniversary, the Vicary experiment was replicated at the International Branding Conference, MARKA2007 as part of the Hypnosis, Subconscious Triggers and Branding presentation by Hypnotherapist and IDM Fellow Jim Brackin. The 1,400 delegates watched the opening credits of the movie PICNIC into which subliminal messages had been placed at six second intervals. Then, the delegates were asked to choose between two fictitious brands. One brand 'Delta' had been suggested using the subliminal messages and the other 'Theta' had not.
When choosing between the two brands, 81% of the audience chose 'Delta' in preference to 'Theta'. This is a convincing substantiation of Vicary's results. “Even though this technique is 50 years old, and there are more sophisticated techniques being used in advertising today, this demonstrates the powerful influence of subliminal messages” said Brackin. “The subliminal cut was the mother of all hypnotic techniques and today her children walk all around you. They are everywhere, in posters, press advertising, on the radio and the T.V. They are the legal siblings of a banned parent.”
Real life examples were then shown of the three most common hypnotic techniques used in advertising today. Each example was chosen because of its spontaneous recall amongst the public and its ability to dramatically increase sales. They included the most watched advert on youtube in 2007, the Cadbury 'Gorilla' and the greatest ad ever as voted by Channel 4 viewers as the greatest ever, the Guinness “Surfer” .
WHAT SUBLIMINALS ARE USED IN YOUR COMMUNICATIONS?
