Amazing Video Proves That Subliminal Suggestion Works

[Shinobi]

Here is a video of an amazing experiment carried out by the brilliant Derren Brown. Using extremely subtle subliminal suggestion he is able to guide the creative ideas of two top advertising designers as they create a new campaign, supposedly from their own imaginations.

You will be shocked by the conclusion. It raises serious questions about how easily we are influenced in every area of our lives, and even makes one question the true nature of creativity and where ideas really come from.

If you are even slightly interested in the power of subliminal suggestion over the human mind, you will be fascinated by this short video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyQjr1YL0zg

10 Disturbing Trends in Subliminal Advertising

Subliminal advertising has gone mainstream - fake news, mind control scripts, propaganda and stealth voicemail are in wide use by corporations, government bodies and industry groups.

Some of the biggest advertisers are taking their advertising away from full page ads and television spots and spending up on hidden persuasion. You won't find these secret messages in ice-cubes or flickering film footage like they were in the sixties. Subliminal advertising has gone mainstream - fake news, mind control scripts, propaganda and stealth voicemail are in wide use by corporations, government bodies, and industry groups. Have you spotted any of these?

1. Point of Sale Mind Control Scripts
Clothing store staff and car salesmen use them to close the deal - carefully planned questions and subverbal cues to get you to sign. If you’ve ever walked out of a store, after spending twice as much as you wanted to, chances are you’ve fallen victim to one of these scripts. The GAPACT is used by Gap staff to upsell you. Other salesmen use word techniques to make you buy, even when you don’t have the money - because they make more by selling you 'easy' finance. When a car salesmen takes you on a test drive and asks you “Is this the type of vehicle you would like to own?”, he is using a subtle mental framing trick - it can create an embarrassing distraction while you drive. The technique is called disassociation - which is the ideal state for mental manipulation.

2. Doctor-Patient Drug Kick-backs
When a doctor recommends a certain heart medication or an antidepressant, chances are he has been paid a cash bonuses and perks by the manufacturer, making it difficult to give objective advice. Some pharmaceutical firms have gone so far as to invent and promote a new syndrome in order to create a market for a new drug! Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) was devised in 1998 and publicised by planting fifty press stories and quizzes such as: “Do you have social anxiety disorder?”. Soon after, Smithkline Beecham released Paxil - the 'cure' for SAD.

3. In-Store Sensory Manipulation
Scientifically tested visual displays, Muzak tapes, and even mind altering scents combine to maximize impulse spending. Specially designed music loops can keep shoppers in the supermarket for 18% longer. One study into use of airborne aromas, pumped into a Canadian mall, resulted in an increase of over $50 per customer that week. In supermarkets, scientifically generated Planograms create the ideal shelf arrangement for certain products, skewing the shopper's eyes towards high value items. Companies pay slotting allowances for favoured placement. Aisle layout are change regularly - which prevents systematic shopping - forcing extra trips past the impulse item displays.

4. Private Conversation Rental
Positive buzz can be triggered artificially for a price. Marketers now recruit secret 'buzz agents' to promote to their friends and family. One buzz agency claims to have an army of agents in every major US city. Their job is to mention or display certain products as they go about their day, using their relationships as marketing channels. Music labels, book sellers, entertainment venues, and fashion outlets are using this method to establish new brands. Today’s billion dollar 12-16 year olds are so immune to traditional advertising, mass media is no longer a reliable persuasive device - so the alternative is a 'synthetic grapevine.’

5. Neuromarketing
Corporations are going to enormous lengths to probe the minds of consumers - literally tapping into their brains. The Brighthouse Institute for Thought Sciences, in Atlanta, is one lab that is scanning people's brains with MRIs, in an effort to decode and record our subconscious thoughts and devise more seductive advertising. The process is being called neuromarketing. They are hoping to determine specific biological triggers that can be used by language engineers to stimulate purchases. This is the hi-tech fulfilment of pioneer psychologists Freud and Jung who established the connection between language and behaviour.

6. Chatbots and Stealth Voicemail
Personal phone messages from businesses or political campaigners can turn up in your morning voicemail, having been delivered late the previous night. Voicemail broadcasters like DialAmerica uses massive computer installations to deliver identical copies of spoken messages to millions of householder simultaneously. On the internet, chat room 'bots' masquerading as personal real buddies are actually distributed simultaneously by powerful computers 24 hours a day. Virtual word-of-mouth communication is replacing other promotional technologies because of its speed and price.

7. Real-time Bugging of Personal Data
Your browser is probably revealing more than you might want: your location, the software and hardware you are using, details of other links you clicked on and your browsing habits. Many third party dataminers use 'cookies' to track your path across the web. Extensive realtime information is processed to target you. Larger databases harvest your personal medical and financial records to be bought and sold by interested companies and government departments. Datamining is a fuzzy science that filters you personal information for links about your personal behaviour and finances. These details are used in turn to create elaborate marketing campaigns to sell you more stuff.

8. Sidewalk Stalkers
The public space of streets, neighborhoods and communities is being mapped and targeted by viral marketers and fake grassroots organizations. In some cases the campaigns are overt but, increasingly, street 'agents' are making unannounced social approaches. Fake tourists flash around the latest camera-phone to passing crowds. 'Product seeders' circulate at sports events to find influential young players to wear their gear. Others wander the street wearing colored corporate tattoos. Personal space is the last frontier for commerce. As citizens attempt to retreat from the deluge of media advertising they can now be stalked when they step out the door.

9. Planted News Stories
Industry front groups, public relations firms and government departments are planting news stories on TV, radio, newspapers and the web. Those 'miracle drug' stories or research reports are often Video News Release (VNRs). TV newsrooms love these prepackaged news items that are distributed across the networks. It saves them time and money but it is killing community news and genuine investigative reporting. Real news items are being replaced by slick corporate promotions and political messages. According to one Nielsen Media Research Survey, about 80 percent of U.S. news directors air VNRs several times a month, and all American television newsrooms now use VNRs in their newscasts.

10. Government Propaganda
When it's time to launch a war or promote an unpopular policy, the government needs special help to sell the idea through the media. Opinion engineers are paid to "manage" public perception of inconvenient facts, and turn them around for better. Using the universal tools fear, patriotism, and phrase repetition, these high flying spin doctors can easily sway the population. The most successful public relations campaigns aim to change public perception without our awareness of the campaign. They are typically launched by governments, institutions and countries who need to change their public image, restore their reputation or manipulate public opinion. There are PR firms today who advise dictatorships, dishonest politicians and corrupt industries to cover up environmental catastrophes and human rights violations.

Martin Howard is a media researcher and author of "We Know What You Want: How They Change Your Mind".

http://www.howtheychangeyourmind.com/

Bizarre Subliminal Technique Works for Good

The U.S. Government banned them on TV and radio in 1974. They were once famously used to boost sales of popcorn by almost 60%. And today, they’re the subject of numerous Derren Brown-style “mind” shows airing throughout the globe.

I’m talking, of course, about subliminal messages.

However, despite all the media hype, subliminal messages aren’t just used by advertising moguls trying to get us to buy another can of coke. They can also be employed to make serious and lasting change in our own lives.

In this short article, I’m going to share a method you can use to get subliminal messages working for you—starting tonight!

But before we begin, let’s ask ourselves: what exactly are subliminal messages?

Subliminal is defined as “below the threshold of consciousness”. Subliminal messaging refers to the act of sending messages directly to the powerful subconscious mind, the part of your brain that controls everything from memory to body temperature to providing your conscious mind with its core traits.

The most famous experiment in subliminal messaging history was conducted by pioneer Dr James Vicary, who flashed the words “I want popcorn” and “Drink more coke” in front of a movie audience for just 100-milliseconds. Nobody officially “saw” the messages—they were below the threshold of consciousness—yet popcorn sales shot up 57.8% and coke sales increased 18.1%.

The U.S. Government soon outlawed this powerful suggestion technique in advertising, yet its potential as a revolutionary self-help tool was soon realized. The power to send self-improvement commands direct to the subconscious mind was suddenly available to the masses.

But how? There are two primary ways you can actually “send” subliminal messages. Visually, such as with the popular Subliminal Power software tool. Or, less effectively, using sound, with the subliminal CDs you can buy from most bookstores.

Yet if your budget is low, there’s an even cheaper way to begin putting the power of subliminal messaging to work for you!

Here’s how:

Begin by identifying a couple of core goals you’d like to concentrate on in your life right now. For example, you may wish to learn faster or quit smoking. Write that goal down as a simple, short, positive affirmation – such as “I am a quick learner” or “I am ready to quit smoking”.

Now write your affirmation, clearly and in thick black marker pen, onto a sheet of white cardboard. Create three-or-so cards, each with affirmations focusing on your core theme, and store them next to your bed with a flashlight.

Next comes the unsociable part!

We’re going to catch your mind in a highly receptive state, by waking it up in the middle of the night, when the door to your subconscious is wide open.

Set your alarm clock for 3am, then go to sleep as normal. As soon as you hear the ring, turn off the alarm and—almost instinctively—pick up the affirmation cards and your flashlight. The room should be pitch black.

Next, flick the flashlight on and off very quickly a dozen times over each affirmation card. While doing this, stare at the cards. Do not consciously try to make out the words. These subliminal messages are for the subconscious.

When you’re done, simply turn off the flashlight, put down the cards and return to sleep. It will take just two minutes of your time and I guarantee you’ll fall straight back into deep and restful slumber.

That’s it: you’ve just “sent” a bundle of subliminal messages straight to your subconscious. What follows is exciting!

After the first few nights of using this technique, most individuals report problem-solving dreams that assist in their goals or influence their decisions. Just a week later and practically all participants note a serious movement toward their core goal. Their leaning speed improves dramatically. Their nicotine addiction is cut in half. The change is happening... from within.

It’s a very simple system, yet remains highly powerful and terribly underused.

Strangely, most people reading this article won’t try this straightforward experiment. They don’t believe it. They think it won’t work.

Yet Tiger Woods, Steven Spielberg, even the U.S. Government all know the power behind subliminal messaging.

And if you don’t, maybe it’s about time you caught up.

http://www.mindpowernews.com/FreeSubliminals.htm

[StingingNettle]

That was great. Thanks!

[kam]

yeah, derren has done some excellent stuff over the years....
his latest tv series is excellent.

thanks for the info.

Kam

[waxzy]

have you seen the video where he gets people to rob an armored car?

damn neat stuff

[SerialExpLain]

Absolutely amazing and thoroughly interesting.

[fjaneson]

Thank you for this link!

I love how whenever a hypnotist is asked, they say "OH NO ONE CAN EVER BE HYPNOTIZED TO DO SOMETHING THEY WOULD FIND UN ETHICAL." Hehe.

I Wonder what my R-Complex thinks of ethics.

Notice also, on the shite TV, that they NEVER show hypnosis anymore. For example, that pig excreta

Maury Povich. He regularly has Hypnotists come on and relieve people of life long phobias during a

commercial break. BUT they go back stage, and off camera to do the hypnosis. Prolly people at home were

getting hypnotized too, so they had to stop showing the actual session.

I remember one lady was terrified of aluminium foil paper. I wonder how that happens.

Maybe she bit into some as a baby? Or a box of it fell on her head? Who knows...

Which is the correct or earliest usage of the word ALUMINIUM? Is it that or ALUMINUM?

Why am I still typing?

[Shinobi]

Ask yourself this too .. why are people still Voting ? .. LOL.

[Shinobi]

Take a look at this site http://www.subliminalmessages.com/
a few examples of how things can trick the mind.
Be careful if you suffer from fits n stuff.

a pdf file by John R Vokey http://people.uleth.ca/~vokey/pdf/Submess.pdf (On sumbliminals)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMzbwa6PvEE (Sumbliminal Advertisement)

I found this website here to be quite interesting too http:/brary.thinkquest.org/28162/main.html

Heres an article relating to slot machines with subliminal messaging.

Quote:Ontario removes video slot machines flashing winning images

Ontario's provincial gambling operator has pulled 87 video slot machines out of service or physically removed them from its casinos after a CBC investigation found what appear to be subliminal messages flashing at players.

Ontario Lottery and Gaming, the recently rebranded Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., is concerned about three games on video slots made by a company called Konami. It shut them down as a precaution on Friday, and is looking into the issue.

The games flash winning jackpot symbols at players for a fifth of a second, long enough for the brain to detect even if the players are not aware of the message, some psychologists told CBC News.

It's not clear if messages are influencing gamblers' behaviour. That would take further testing, experts said.

But players who stick to a machine are seeing a winning image every two seconds, the time it takes for one spin, and that concerns Roger Horbay, an electronic gaming specialist who has treated hundreds of problem gamblers.

"I think it's part of them trying to make their games more attractive to the players to keep them at the game longer so their machines are more profitable," he said.

However, Konami, the company behind the games, said the jackpot symbols are a technical problem that it is fixing.

"It is simply a software glitch that our engineers have identified in four game titles, and we have identified [that] three of those titles have been shipped into Canada," said Konami spokesman Steve Sutherland.

"The company is not going to risk its licensing to do this. It is purely a software error that the company is fixing."

The game titles with the symbols are: Most Wanted, Sergeant Fritter and Billionaires. (A fourth called Sticks and Stones has only had limited release in the United States.)

But OLG, similar bodies in other jurisdictions and the Ontario gaming regulator, are all taking the messages seriously.

"Well, we are going to take a look at it further and see if there really is anything that we need to do and we will take the appropriate action," said Sukhi Grewal, head of game testing at the regulator, the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario.

U.S. states consider pulling games

Gaming Laboratories International, the private lab in the U.S. that tests slot machines for most states, is investigating as a direct result of the CBC story, and many U.S. state casino commissions are looking at whether to pull the machines there, president James Maida said.

In Canada, British Columbia followed Ontario's lead last Friday and pulled a handful of the types of machines that flash the winning symbols. But after doing tests to ensure they are still paying out at the normal rates, they're back on the gambling floor.

Quebec has about 150 machines made by Konami, and is checking to see if any of them have the games with the winning jackpot symbols.

Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and the Atlantic provinces either have no Konami games, or the games on their Konami slots don't have the symbols.

As part of research for this story, CBC News went to several Ontario casinos to videotape about 20 different types of slot machines. There didn't appear to be any symbols flashing — until the video was slowed down. Then it became clear that the three games contained winning jackpot symbols.

While the effects are uncertain, problem gamblers complain that the machines affect how they think, electronic gaming specialist Horbay said. They can't pinpoint the problem, but "this may be part of what they believe is messing up their heads," he said.

OLG pulled 25 Billionaires, 37 Most Wanted and 25 Sergeant Fritter games from casino slot parlours at race tracks, as well as Casino Rama, Casino Niagara, and Fallsview Casino in Niagara. The province has a total of 1,373 Konami machines. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/02/2...ttery.html

Heres a slightly older article aswell relating to sumbliminals in junk mail.

Quote:Subliminal messages come in spam

Banned subliminal messages that could potentially manipulate users' subconscious have appeared in spam, according to PandaLabs.

Users opening the message see what appears to be a normal advertisement for online stocks. Yet the message also displays a rapid series of images, for 10 to 40 milliseconds, which include the word "buy", according to PandaLabs.

Controversy has surrounded subliminal messages since they were reportedly tested in advertising in the 1950s in the US. Nobody has ever shown that they work but subliminal images are banned worldwide in TV and cinema advertising.

Even though the spam recipient is not aware of the images, they can be influenced by them without realising it, according to Luis Corrons, director of PandaLabs. "This is the first time we have detected an Internet threat that uses subliminal techniques."

Subliminal techniques could become more sophisticated, he warned. "Think about the damage that this type of message could cause, especially to young users," he said, adding a suggestion that "appropriate security tools which include antispam and content filtering technologies will help prevent threats like this from reaching users' mailboxes."

Only a few examples of subliminal advertising have been tried. Campaigners for President Mitterand reportedly edited single-frame insertions of his portrait into French news broadcasts in 1988, while police in America tried to use the technique to catch a serial killer in 1978. Kansas TV station KAKE-TV transmitted a subliminal message for the murderer to turn himself in: his subsequent arrest in 2005 is not thought to be connected to the experiment. http://news.zdnet.co.uk/security/0,1000000...39283162,00.htm

I found this article here which I really enjoyed reading
I hope you do too. :smile:

Quote:Subliminal Messages Alive and Well

The debate over subliminal messages has been alive and well for more than forty years, and both sides of the issue have been explored in their entirety. Do subliminal messages exist, or are they just a figment of one’s imagination? If they do exist, do they work, or are the advertisers just wasting valuable time when they could be devising ways to better serve their potential customers, ethically? These are some of the more popular questions being asked about subliminal messages. I’ll let you be the judge.

The first known experiment with subliminal projection occurred in 1956, when a special projector was installed in a Fort Lee, New Jersey movie theater by a New York City firm, Subliminal Projection Co., Inc. During a six-week period, patrons reportedly were exposed to two advertising messages projected subliminally on the screen during the regular presentation of the motion picture "Picnic." The words "Drink Coca-Cola" and "Hungary? Eat Popcorn" were flashed on the screen every five seconds at the subliminal level of 1/3000th of a second. The Subliminal Projection Co. reported that the sale of popcorn and Coca-Cola increased as a result of this simulation.

There have been many more recent experiments conducted in recent times. There was an experiment conducted by Dr. Kenneth Parker at Queens College in New York where testees were shown the word PLASTIC for such a short time that they cannot be conscious of having seen it. This is tested first. There should have been no conscious perception.When the testees are asked to make a word with the letters PLA, they all give PLASTIC. Other possibilities such as PLASTICINE, PLACE, PLANT…are not suggested by anyone. Also, of the two most popular words starting in ELA – ELASTIC and ELATED – the testees only chose ELASTIC after having perceived the word PLASTIC subconsciously.

Not only have subliminal messages been tested by experiment, they have also been used in advertising. When subliminal messages are used in advertising, it has been said that the most common forms of messages relate to sexual aggression, violence, and power. Many people have claimed that the Camel cigarettes’ advertisement, containing Joe Camel, projects sexual implications. Supposedly, the head of Joe Camel represents the head of male genitalia.

Also, in an advertisement for Kent cigarettes many years ago, during the time of the Cold War, there was a picture of three individuals on a ski lift. There was a woman in between two men. The man on the left was dressed in red and yellow, typically communist colors. On the other side of the woman there was a man, obviously more attractive, dressed in patriotic red, white, and blue. It was evident by the picture that the woman was more interested in the gentleman in red, white, and blue that the other man in communist colors. Consequently, the man in "patriotic" colors was holding the Kent cigarette.

Subliminal messages go beyond just print advertising. There are many examples cited in movies. Disney received an incredible amount of criticism for the appearance of the word SEX in the movie Lion King. Not only does the word appear, but it appears twice! Coincidence? I’ll let you be the judge. Another situation involving the Lion King deals with the names of the characters. In Swahili, the name ‘Simba’ means lion and the name ‘Shenzi’ means barbarian, but the word Pumba (the name of the warthog), when translated from Swahili, means ‘excretion from under the foreskin.’ I cannot verify the Swahili translation, but if that is correct, that is absurd.

Disney did not stop at Lion King. There have been other incidences cited in the movies Aladdin and The Little Mermaid. In Aladdin, if one were to listen closely, you can hear a whispered message that states, "Good teenagers, take off your clothes." Although Disney spokesperson Rick Rhoades claims the cited verse supposedly says, "Good tiger, take off and go," I’ve heard the cited verse, and it sounds to me like Disney meant to do wrong. In The Little Mermaid, there is a seen where a man performing a wedding is shown in profile and appears to get an erection as the bride and groom approach. Rick Rhoades declined to comment on this incident.

Subliminal messages are around us everyday, if one would want to believe so. If one were to look at the Windows 95 startup screen (for quite some time) they might possibly begin to notice a few images. For instance, a dark horse (representing power and authority) rearing on its hind legs can be made from the shaded area just to the left of the Windows insignia. Another image could possibly be made from the shadow above and to the right of the insignia. This could represent a flying bird with outstretched wings. This could perhaps symbolize flying and freedom. (Or is it a vulture!)

Finally, many people have been able to make out (pardon the pun!) a man caressing a woman laying in the missionary position. If you look above the insignia, you can see the profile of a man’s face, with the tip of his nose touching the very top left part of the logo. The white clouds can be imagined as the hair of a woman, supposedly with her head resting on a pillow. If one were to use their imagination, this could be seen, with whatever connotations one would want to apply.

Subliminal messages can be seen everywhere, if one wants to believe so. There are many examples of subliminal messages, both obvious and not. Is it a mistake that the letters SEX appear on advertisements in magazines all over the world or is it just coincidence? Is it an explicit attempt by Disney to convey sexual overtones in its movie cartoons, or has Disney just been the blunt of bad criticism? Are these blatant subliminal messages or are they just occurrences of chance? I’ll let you be the judge.
http://komar.cs.stthomas.edu/qm425/fisher3.htm