Calvin's Blog

The other night I had a dream about a commercial that I saw that day. What the commercial was about I don’t really remember but it did get me thinking about something. Could it be possible to advertise in people’s dreams? What if companies were able to place ads within our subconscious and then we awaken with a sudden urge to buy a specific product? A scary thought but with the advancement of technology, I don’t doubt the possibility of implementing this form of marketing, if it has not been done so already.
I did some research on the idea of advertising in people’s dreams but it doesn’t seem that there are any examples of the it being used in reality.
However, after some further research I learned that companies have been trying to do something similar to what I have been thinking in that they target the consumer’s subconscious. Subliminal messages have been around for a long time and have been used as a powerful tool to get into the mind of the consumer. They are said to be very effective in persuading and to evoke emotional responses in them. But subliminal messaging has been banned in several countries such as the UK and Australia as it is deemed to be manipulative and violates an individual’s rights and freedoms.
So I suppose that even if firms were able to advertise in people’s dreams deliberately, it would not go over too well with consumers as it takes away from their freedom of choice and what they choose to be exposed to.
But even if subconscious advertisements are illegal, will that stop companies from engaging in them? Something that is so hard to prove and is so easy to get away with for many firms, companies may just disregard human rights in order to gain a bit of competitive advantage against their competitors.
Advertising beyond the consumer’s full range of attention is a hot issue in the world of marketing and continues to be up for debate. So long as there are companies competing to gain a bit of market share, there’s no telling what lengths firms will go to in order to maximize their profits.

click here to read more about subliminal advertising

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