Can subliminal persuasion techniques influence you to buy things?

In the summer of 1957,?James Vicary?and?subliminal messages?were red hot buzz words in marketing circles.

A mass of marketers, copywriters and business owners descended from all over the United States of America to listen to his presentations on how to influence the public to buy stuff they don’t consciously want.

Their arrival at gas stations causes panic among attendants. There is simply no way to cope with a caravan of nationally known big-wigs rolling in, each demanding a gallon or two of gas.

Outlaw copywriters on motorcycles gunning their engines, yelling, and darting back and forth between the attendants. The smell of violence and gasoline clung to the air with the feeling that something terrible could happen at any moment.

Before anything kicked off, the motorbikes screamed towards the auditorium as a greasy black thunder.

The owner of the auditorium was visibly shaken and had hired a few private gunmen to protect the lobby against theft and vandalism.

The hairy city boys filed in with chains wrapped around the knuckles and stank of human grease. The occasional CEO brandished a pistol and most expected a brawl to burst out at any moment. The scene was surprisingly peaceful as the men took their seats.

Vicary was in complete command from the moment he stepped onto the stage. The hoodlum caravan fell silent with the only sound being the last few beer cans to drop on the auditorium’s floor.

One of the rabbles spoke out of turn causing a marketer in the second row to turn and yell “shut yer mouth or you’ll have a bloody fight on your hands!”.

Needless to say, Vicary had the floor.

The first subliminal message in film

Vicary had sketched out a plan to use mind control on audiences in movie theatres.

He explained to those in attendance that he had got his hands on the film reels used during intermissions. He then spliced Coca Cola and popcorn promotions into a few frames of the film which were shown at 1/3000th of a second.

The flash of subliminal images passed so quickly that it was difficult (if not impossible) for the audience’s mind to pick up on.

Vicary explained that the subliminal messages had taken their effect on the audience which then developed an unnatural taste for popcorn and Coca Cola.

Popcorn stands were overrun with impatient people craving fresh buttery popcorn while others stuffed their pockets with glittering glass bottles of Coke.

He concluded that his study had proven that consumers can be subconsciously marketed with hidden images like “Eat Popcorn” or “Drink Coca-Cola“.

The mob in the auditorium dispersed, unsure what to make of it all. Some believed he was a pioneer and visionary. Others blurted out words like “fraud” and “wanker“. The others remained silent as they straddled their motorcycles and kicked them into life.

Vicary was under pressure to replicate his experiment. People started to accuse him of making a quick buck and regardless of what the marketer tried, he couldn’t produce the same result.

Maybe Vicary was right about subliminal messages

It had been many years since Vicary’s catastrophe that his results were partially validated by researchers.

They found that a few of his methods do work… Providing that the audience likes the product hidden within the subliminal messages.

Other studies found that?external stimuli?impact the effectiveness of subliminal persuasion techniques. For example, the audience passes popcorn stands and Coca Cola advertisements. In their seats, they are surrounded by people who consume both products.

Therefore, if Vicary’s experiment was a success, then it was most likely due to the audience’s?surroundings.

What do you think?

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(This article was first published on GoGoChimp's blog here: Subliminal Persuasion 101: Is it everything it's cracked up to be?)