Subliminal messages are everywhere and sometimes we don’t even notice them. We see them when we eat, when we watch a movie, read a magazine article and in many other different ways. These messages are any stimuli below the individual’s threshold for conscious perception. As consumers sometimes we don’t even notice these stimulations and still fall on what the companies want us to do: buy their product.
Subliminal messages came out in 1957 when researcher James Vicary inserted the words “Eat popcorn” and “Drink Coca-Cola” into a movie. The words were inserted in a single frame long enough so that human subconscious could pick it up, but too short for viewer to be aware of it. These subliminal ads supposedly created an 18.1% increase in Coke sales and a 57.8% increase in popcorn sales. Companies have found out that sometimes it is successful to use this kind of advertising in their products. Multinational companies nowadays still used them such as Camel, Swensen`s ice cream, KFC and even Disney.
It is amazing how a company such as Disney, in which their target segment are children, still uses subliminal messages in their movies related with sexual content, drugs and other unusual behavior. So I agree with you Jose Trevino, subliminal messages are facts and it happens in the real world because they are an effective way to make consumers buy more!
Taken from:
http://www.businessinsider.com/subliminal-ads-2011-5?op=1#ixzz2M97jbZtT