A subliminal message is one that passes below the threshold of consciousness and persuades you to act upon it. The term was coined by marketing man James Vicary in 1957 when he claimed that subliminal, flash frame, advertising messages saying 'Thirsty? Drink Coca Cola' and 'Hungry? Eat Popcorn' inserted into a movie caused a dramatic rise in purchases at the snack kiosk. It was an ad man's dream. A way of instantly turning passive viewers into active consumers.
Vicary's advertising experiment came to light in 1957 in Vance Packard's best-selling book The Hidden Persuaders. Packard wrote about a series of subliminal projection experiments that had taken place in a New Jersey cinema but was unable to verify the source. James Vicary, who was cited in the book about other research, later stepped forward to take credit for them. His claims created a sensation.
With James Vicary in the driving seat many people jumped aboard the subliminal bandwagon. Advertisers saw it as a way to influence consumers. Radio stations toyed with the idea of subliminal audio as a way of incorporating traffic, weather and safety messages into broadcasts. Politicians feared it could be misused for political ends. Long Island tabloid Newsday pronounced it 'the most alarming invention since the atomic bomb.' And the L.A. Times declared that James Vicary was 'as evil as Nazi war criminals, and should be shot.' One year after the publication of The Hidden Persuaders subliminal advertising was banned from television in both the UK and USA. It was deemed too dangerous.
In fact there is great doubt that Vicary ever conducted any such experiments. Attempts by other researchers to duplicate Vicary's success have all failed. Even Vicary's attempt in 1958 to persuade viewers to call a TV station after being subjected to subliminal messages did not work. His Subliminal Projection Company went out of business the same year.
In 1962 Vicary confessed to Advertising Age magazine that his original claims were a marketing gimmick designed to promote his company. Ironically this is one message that the public seem to have missed and belief in the persuasive nature of subliminal advertising is widespread.
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