Beginners Guide on How to Use Subliminal Messages in Advertising
By Trevor Johnson, EzineArticles.com, Expert Author

Subliminal messages have been included in movies and television for years. In the 1950's studies were done in movie theaters as to concession sales when the subliminal message "drink Coke" or "eat popcorn" were flashed on the screen. If you don't know what a subliminal message is, here is a beginners guide on how to use subliminal messages in advertising.

The human eye can not see action that happens faster than 1/30th of a second. Movies are projected at the rate of 24 frames per second and television at 30 fields per second. This rate of projection allows movement to be discerned by the human eye as "flickerless."

Subliminal advertising in movies and on television involves inserting 2 or 3 frames of a message into a scene. The theory is that while the eye can not discern the image shown, the subconscious mind does see it and responds to the message. There has been a great debate as to whether this practice is an ethical or not. There is also a great debate questioning the fact that subliminal advertising actually functions as an advertising medium.

A secondary type of subliminal advertising consists of the inclusion of a specific product into a movie or television show. The presence of a particular brand of soda or even dish detergent causes a response in the viewer. The concept is that the simple presence of a known brand influences the thinking of the viewer to see that brand in a positive manner.

Whether the subliminal message is presented to the viewer as a few frames with a message inserted into a moving scene or the placement of a product in the scene itself as a prop really works is a debatable subject. This subject is often studied and varying results have been produced by these studies. The ethical question of the ethics utilized in subliminal advertising is still an open question and many feel that subliminal advertising is still practiced in today's media.

---Source: Ezine @rticles March 22, 2009 (www.ezinearticles.com).