How true is Wilson Key’s magnum opus work about subliminal advertising?
By Brian Dunning via skeptoid
Read transcript below or listen here
Put on your 3D glasses and grab a seat in the theater — it’s time for a wild ride through the psychological cinematic world of subliminal advertising.
Alleged subliminal advertising is said to take place in two forms. In the first, a marketing message like “Drink Pepsi” is flashed on a screen so briefly that a person cannot consciously perceive it. 
In the second, sexual imagery is cunningly hidden within artwork to make it more compelling for no consciously discernible reason. Subliminal means below the threshhold of conscious perception. So, for any such message to be truly subliminal, it must not be consciously detectable. In fact sexual imagery is all over advertising, but if you’re able to perceive it, it’s not subliminal and thus not part of this discussion. Draping a bikini model across the hood of a Camaro is not subliminal advertising.
The magnum opus of subliminal advertising is a book written in 1974 by Wilson Bryan Key, Subliminal Seduction, inspired by Vance Packard’s original 1957 book The Hidden Persuaders. Packard’s book discussed ways advertisers might appeal to consumers’ hopes, fears, and guilt. Key took it to a whole new level, “exposing” advertising methods that he had envisioned or perceived on his own. Subliminal Seduction has been highly successful over the decades, spawning at least two sequels (though they contain much of the same material). Key’s assertions have inspired whole college curricula dedicated to propagating the claim that the advertising industry systematically influences the public with subliminal advertising. Just listen to what a few Amazon customers have said about Subliminal Seduction:
“Why You Should Read This Book”
I have studied subliminal techniques for 30 years. You have to understand psychology to appreciate that you can be manipulated by hidden messages in visual images. Why would commercial artists continue to do it if there were no evidence that it works?“Read It Carefully”
Key has an uncanny insight into a subject that more people should become aware of. This is where you will miss the boat by not taking the information in this book seriously. The manipulation of our minds is more far reaching than even he could have guessed.“Enlightening Eye Opener”
This comes from a time before digital computers, and should provoke anyone to ask “If they were that good then, what are they doing to us now?!?”
“Why You Should Read This Book”So what does the advertising industry have to say about subliminal advertising? As it happens, I took a series of advertising seminars earlier in my career with a panel of local ad executives. During one Q&A session, a guy stood up and asked about the findings made in Subliminal Seduction. As one, the panel collectively groaned and laughed. They said that book was the oldest joke in the advertising industry. The author Key has never worked in advertising and his books exhibit no practical knowledge of the advertising business, other than his own delusional perceptions of what he sees in ice cubes.
Filed under: Brain Works, Educational, Human Perception, Myths, Perception Tagged: advertising, conspiracies, logic, marketing, Persuasion, skeptoid, Subliminal Advertising, subliminal messages, Subliminal Seduction, The Hidden Persuaders, Urban Legends, Wilson Bryan Key
