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Counterargument
Subliminal Messages Harmful?
Many people try to associate subliminal messages with immorality. Shakeel Ahmad Sofi, a research scholar, claims that subliminal messages are used “not only to increase sales but is also used to divert youth and involve them in such type of behaviour which is only hazardous to the consumer.” The fear of subliminal messages is created because people think that it can control their buying behavior and can cause them to act immorally. Ahmad claims that subliminal messages uses inappropriate imagery to increase desires of consumers. These desires are associated with the product that is being advertised, causing consumers to have irrational buying behavior. He also claims that subliminal ads cause people to act inappropriately because of exposure to inappropriate images. Many of these claims increase the paranoia of consumers and cause people to create false interpretations of subliminal messages. Subliminal Seduction
Many people claim that they see inappropriate subliminal messages embedded inside of images. William Bryan Key, an enterprising professor, wrote many books based on subliminal persuasion. One of Key’s popular examples of embedded subliminal imagery was the word sex inside of a Ritz Cracker. According to William O’Barr, a professor in Cultural Anthropology, most of his claims were backed with little evidence, however he was able to sell 8.5 million copies of his bestseller. Key never provided any documentation from advertisers admitting to the use of subliminal messages, yet he did gain popularity because he relied on the fear of subliminal messages. Similarly August Bullock, an attorney, claims that “delivering subliminal content through the use of pictures with multiple meanings is extremely common in media” (Bullock). Bullock even claimed that a Dodge Quad Truck has homosexual implications. Many of Bullocks examples are his interpretations of an image. They contain no subliminal messages that are below the conscious threshold. Also many of Bullocks examples are simply innuendos. For example he claims that the image to the right contains many subliminal messages. Although this image may seem inappropriate, it is simply an innuendo, not a subliminal message. It didn’t involve a hidden image that was below the conscious threshold. These claims can cause people to connect subliminal messages with images that contain innuendos. However, Sheri Broyles, an advertising professor, claims that “with innuendo, no one is trying to hide anything. With subliminal, they are trying to sneak something past.” Many images that contain innuendos aren’t subliminal. If the message isn’t below the conscious threshold, then it is not subliminal. The public shouldn’t fear subliminal messages in advertisements. In the past many of these fears were rooted in ignorance of the topic, and it is the same today. Many people who claim that there are subliminal messages in advertising don't even consider examples that are subliminal. They also create false interpretations of subliminal messages that may not even exist. People should be aware of the limitations of subliminal messages and why they may not be used by advertisers. In some conditions subliminal messages aren't very effective, and the risks involved in using subliminal messages are very high for advertisers. It's time for the public to discard their fear and paranoia of subliminal messages in advertisements. |
Images From(Top to bottom):
http://johnbucksblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/classic-key-most-memorable-from-great.html
http://www.genderads.com/styled-15/photos-76/
http://johnbucksblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/classic-key-most-memorable-from-great.html
http://www.genderads.com/styled-15/photos-76/