It’s safe to say that I’m a subliminer. I believe in
subliminal messages and I think for the most part a number of people do too (whether
they want to admit it). It’s a fact there are subliminal messages hidden in
marketing – that’s how an idea is sold.
With the effectiveness of subliminal stimuli, Wikipedia
quotes Merikle and Skanes who
suggests, “research on action
priming has shown that subliminal stimuli can trigger only those actions that
one plans to perform anyway: only if a person already has the specific
intention to perform a certain action, can this action be subliminally
triggered.” (Source). The article also discusses subjective and objective stimuli,
which I won’t get into.
With the above being said, I have to
again agree with subliminal messaging. I think Target does a great job with
this. For example, Targets 2012 Back To School Advertisements took parents back in time and in such a clever way. I'm
calling it a "time warp". If you’re a child of the 80’s or you know
what good music sounded like oh say “back in the day” then you’ve experienced
it?
Target advertised back to school
merchandise using songs from the 80's! Seriously folks, who doesn't love the
80's? What better way to lure a parent (or person) in by playing music that takes them back to good times when all was fluffy and there were no worries. What's even better is the characters
(teachers) singing the songs remind us of ourselves (or maybe someone you know). These ads were plastered everywhere! I'm not sure where you were if you missed them. I
have to admit when I first saw these commercials I was mesmerized, fingers
snapping, singing and all. Two, three, four days later I was still thinking of these commercials. I definitely needed to take a trip to Target. Low and behold a few days later I was off to Target.
Target Back to School advertisement,
Music Teacher singing "Word Up", by Cameo,1986.
Target Back to School advertisement,
English Teacher singing a revamped version of
1 comment:
I think that subliminal messages aren't as effective as a successful brand campaign with a concept or message that will stick. The Subtle Power of Hidden Messages by Wolfgang Stroebe suggests that "subliminal messages are similar to how our surroundings color our choices all the time, without us consciously realizing it. Subliminal messages hold sway over our behavior the same way" (The Subtle Power of Hidden Messages. Stroebe, Wolfgang, Scientific American Mind, 15552284, May/Jun2012, Vol. 23, Issue 2). While a subliminal message immediately causes our minds to sway in one direction, I don’t think this effect will work well in the long run.
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