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The Subject

Imagine the following:
You are sitting in the Metro reading your newspaper. Your eyes follow the lines, your brain transforms them into letters, words, phrases, symbolisms and emotions and makes all the necessary correlations so that the above form acceptable meanings.
That is what happens on a conscious level… Think now of all those actions that take place on a subconscious level…
You are sitting on a hard chair, your shirt is a bit tight, the temperature of the wagon is annoying you, the lighting creates interesting shadows, your fellow traveler just switched places with an elderly, the two girls behind you talk a bit loud, the cologne of the man beside you smells bad, your stomach craves for some nourishment and you have a sense of pain from that bruise in your left leg. Meantime you are thinking about your night plans.
With this simple example I try to convey the meaning of "brain power" and "subliminal perception".

But let me be a little more specific:
One of the most controversial issues in the advertising business is the use of subliminal stimuli as a means to affect the consumer's choice.
But what do we mean by the terms "subliminal advertising" and "conscious awareness" and can those states be separated from the whole of perception?
Does advertising, when using devious measures, affect the consumer more; and if so how and why does that happen? How can one affect the individual and the masses without being noticed? Do subliminal messages, either written or spoken, have the power to actually influence us and if so in what degree? Which areas of the brain are more affected by subliminal stimuli and why? What happens in the movies, the songs and the internet? Are there any laws against this kind of this subtle persuasion?

These are some of the questions I tried to analyze and understand in my thesis. I have to admit this turned out to be quite an undertake due to the time and length limitations, but in the end I would like to think of my research as a small step forward into the realm of the subliminal for my fellow students to follow, since as to my knowledge this was the first paper ever written about this subject in my college.

In order to find information I searched libraries, newspapers, magazines, the internet, I took an opinion poll and I had some very interesting discussions with people from the advertising world; but I was disappointed from the fact that there were not any books written in Greek for me to read.

Epilogue

My decision to address this issue derived from two factors:
My conviction that the human brain can accomplish more than we can imagine and from a widely known subliminal experiment, which took place in a movie theatre in New Jersey in 1957, of which I once had read in a magazine.
Upon reading an article by Stuart Rogers analyzing, and in fact dismissing, all theories and supposed facts that leaded to the creation of this myth I must admit I was quite disappointed. I felt betrayed by my own beliefs.
In the end though, through this journey to the subliminal, I discovered that even if an experiment or theory is proved wrong or false that does not mean that all the parts correlated to it are also false. Besides, many theories during the course of humanity were considered unfounded until someone validated them.

This research was based partly on the theories of Dr. Bryan Wilson Key and his book, written in 1989, which was an intriguing reading material. While researching other departments for information I found out that many people had the tendency to attack Dr. Key even on a personal level and accusing him of being from "naive" to "crazy".
I am not in a position to know which side is correct or if his findings are scientific or imaginary but the same applies for all the books I read.

My intent through this research is not to convince the reader of anything, but through the mere indication of facts, to remind that not all is what it appears to be.
Many will probably disagree with the findings of the campaigns in question, others will dismiss them as extreme or funny. The truth is I myself had many doubts; and especially at first I was not able to perceive all that was supposed to be there or even thought the examiners showed exceeding eagerness.
Whatever the case, the fact remains that nowadays whenever I look at an ad I tend to be a little more critical and search for the "hidden" message -if any.
I admit that this process takes away a bit of the advertising magic but one cannot have all…

The experiments and theories on subliminal perception will continue and so will the need for exciting and interesting ads.
Will the man use self-help tapes to loose weight, to quit smoking or to enhance his learning abilities or this whole thing will prove to be only "wishful thinking"?
Or, for those who see things on the negative side, will the use of subliminal techniques lead to a world where those who have the means control all?
What will happen in the future is unknown…
I would like to believe though that if the subliminal persuasion is proved affective, the man will use this technique only for the common good and the evolution of the human race.