The Mind Sees What It Wants

      Subliminal messaging, the sneaky, behind the back, trapdoor advertising that has you falling for it before you even know its happening. There are thousands of examples of subliminal messaging and companies trying to be sneaky! Some forms of this are obvious, but still there are many hidden components that we are completely unaware about.

      See the picture on the right? That is a perfect example of how subliminal messaging works. The overall goal of this is to make you want to perform a specific action without it being obvious. Because most advertisements are only seen for a short period of time, they must make the use of that 30 seconds or so to get their point across. Face value is everything, if a company has a logo that feels rather cold, or too cut and dry, it could potentially put off consumers. But companies that choose to create a fun, exciting logo had more positive sales numbers.

      Does the logo of a company affect the quality of the product at all? No. It does not. No debating it! When you see a logo that is appealing to your mind, one that may follow the Fibonacci sequence, it creates a pleasing feeling subconsciously. Or consciously, or whatever it does to you! These logos are not just a title for the company, it could be the difference between them and the competition.

      See what I mean? It does not take much to see what went wrong in this logo. Sometimes the companies themselves cannot see what it right in front of them.

      This is the result of just that.We see subliminal messaging with the most ease when looking at alcohol commercials.

      Beer, vodka, tequila, pick your poison, nearly all companies that put out advertisements for their alcohol use sex to sell. It does raise the question "Why would each company use the same marketing strategy?" The answer is simple, because it works. essentially they tell you that if you purchase their product or drink their product, you will be just like the people they show in the advertisements. Movies have made fun of this because it becomes so ridiculous. The movie the Lorax (highly recommended) contains a commercial for bottled air. If you look closely you can see a few resemblances to a commercial for alcohol.

      The ad shown to the right is not meant to be very conservative at all. It is not saying that you will get the girl, but is directly comparing the beer bottle to the attractive girl in the bikini. Are the two related? Chances are not, but what we see is that this comparison is not the main message of the video. They are using the bottle to control the girl. If you try to control a woman with a beer bottle you are going to look like a goof and you wouldn't be successful, but what is stopping them from saying it isn't possible. The beer is not the main focus of the frame, its the girl dancing around all scantily clad! Not exactly a commercial you would want to watch with kids around. Even if you don't think the commercial is affecting you, it is.

      Subliminal messaging does not come only in the form of sexy models in swimsuits, it is also heard over the radio! Those catchy songs that you hum for hours and hours on end are using the same idea. But instead of using sex to sell to your eyes, they are using the equivalent for your ears, catchy tunes! Really annoying but extremely effective at the same time. Its horrible! You can remember them for years and there will always be another one to take its place. This never ending cycle is what allows companies to continue to develop ways to attack your mind instead of just your five senses. So I suppose that they are attacking your sixth sense!