Subliminal Advertising

Subliminal messages in advertising suggest sensory stimuli below an individual's threshold for conscious perception. Basically saying that if I flash a 0.5 second message at someone repeatedly for a certain length of time it will stick in that person's brain without them realizing it. It suggests some sort of mind manipulation. Whether this can be actually called "manipulation" is debatable. Every person has a different theory, but there definitely two opposing sides: those who believe in it and consider it wrong, and those who don't think its exists.

Personally I think subliminal messaging is non existant. I think people are confusing creative branding and advertising for something that its not (in this case being "manipulation"). Designers go through a lot of pain staking thought and research to create ads and brands that are easily recognizable and unique. Their first thought is not "how can I manipulate the masses into remembering our ads and brand" but rather "how can I design this in such a way that it stands out from all the billions of ads there are and promote the brand properly." An easily recognizable brand is a job well done on the designer's part, and this is what we're paid to do.

Priming is a concept of  providing subtle information that influences the way we think about a certain brand. Taking the coca cola ad example here:

Because of how popular this brand is, we can easily distinguish that the smiley face is actually part of the Coca Cola logo. This is an example of priming from their advertising department. They're trying to get the consumers to associate their brand with happiness. And while that is the point, I wouldn't consider this "manipulation". There is nothing wrong with trying to associate your brand with a particular feeling or emotion. That is purpose of advertising and branding. We as designers are to create a connection with our audience and consumers. How are we to do that if we completely eliminate the use of priming in our work? I find it an effective tool to use when designing. If as a designer I can get the consumers to recognize my brand with just a few subtle hints then that means I have done my job well.

Priming is not exclusive to advertising. Many designers use it to design a particular brand. A few example include FedEx:

You can see the arrow pointing right between the E and X. Most people associate this as moving forward and with the business model of FedEx the subtle clues as to what the brand is about is present in the logo.

In this particular logo for Tostitos you can see two people enjoying a chip with a bowl of salsa between the S and O. This is clever subliminal messaging/priming from the designer to relate the logo to the brand and business. Manipulating the masses? I think not.

Advertising is a medium to sell a brand. Subliminal messaging and priming are not some underhanded methods to persuade consumers to buy certain products, but rather to create a connection and a lasting impression on them. They are purely just some ways advertising can be more effective and nothing else.