Friday, May 12, 2023

Mind Control in the Advertising World

 Mind Control Theme in Peacocks...

Mind control has long been a superpower that many have longed to possess.  The possibilities in power, money, and success are endless.  Corporations, governments, and militaries spend fortunes in understanding the behavior of others.  Social media giants use algorithms to predict their users’ next mouse clicks.  Influencers use products for the bandwagon effect of their fans.  Group think of major medias can impact nations’ laws and elections. But no other industry than the advertising world can make us buy products by unapologetically using mind control tactics.

The advertising industry knows how to leave an impression on the potential customer.  Ads affect the temporal lobe of the brain that processes language.  Slogans, jingles, and sounds can set off triggers.  Thin-slicing, a mental process where the advertising world targets, is a place in the brain where one makes a judgment or inference on something instantly with limited amounts of information.  Our decisions to make purchases heavily rely on colors and branding.  An image is not worth one thousand words.  Actually, images are processed 60000X faster than text.  Smell is another method that easily influences the purchases of customers.  Cinnabon, Abercrombie & Fitch, Dunkin Donuts, and even the Apple Store (they have their own fragrance) use scents at malls to lure in customers. Touch is also a very powerful tool in sales.  Waitresses who touch men’s shoulders are proven to get better tips. (Psychology Today)

Subliminal advertising is probably the most mysterious form of mind control.  Seeing or hearing something subconsciously without remembrance seems like a waste of time and money in advertising.  But it works.  Subliminal advertising gets a person to buy a product with little thought by tapping into the customer’s emotions without the customer’s awareness.  Studies show that the subliminal message works best if it is negative.  Hidden messages within branding such as Baskin and Robbins (31 is in the word), color psychology like using blue for trustworthiness (notice how a lot of apps are blue), and sounds or hidden lyrics in jingles have proven to boost sales.  Because subliminal methods work, some forms of subliminal advertising fall under illegal deceptive advertising criteria. 

Here are some famous examples.

 





The idea of being able to control someone and make them buy your product is intriguing.  Buy my book....buy my book...buy my book....  

If you can make someone buy your product, what else can you make he/she do?  Peacocks, Pedestals and Prayers explores the dark side of advertising in an evil, horror-paranormal novel.  Download a free copy from May 11-15.



 

 

 

 

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