Subliminal advertising

Subliminal advertising is the most controversial form of advertising and is banned in the US and the UK. The ban was made effective long before it was shown to be an effective sales tool, but that did not stop people going ahead and using it anyway...

Subliminal advertising originated in 1956 with the American researcher, Jim Vicary. He collaborated with a New Jersey cinema owner, to install a special projector, to transpose images over the films already playing. These images were flashed so quickly, or printed so faintly, that they were consciously imperceivable to viewers. They first experimented with the words "Hungry? Eat popcorn" and "Drink Coca Cola" which, incredibly - especially to Vicary, who had never believed the idea would work - resulted in an approximate 50% increase in sales of popcorn, and an 18% increase in soft-drink sales. This was tested by alternating the films they showed, half with subliminal messages, and half without. A storm of protest ensued in America and was later repeated in the UK.