Study: Subliminal ads warp your brain

Science has proven, once again, that advertising is effective. Who knew?

Researchers from upset-destined Duke University (fill out those brackets, people) and the University of Waterloo have published the results of a study that suggests that brief exposure to Apple's brand logo drives higher levels of creativity than exposure to IBM's logo. In fact, the researchers suggest that subliminal advertising is actually more effective than regular advertising, because people don't have time to raise their anti-ad defenses.

You are feeling more creative...

(Credit: James Martin/CNET News.com)

The researchers tested 341 students, who were told they were taking a "visual acuity test." The test involved watching a screen, and tracking two events: charting the appearance of a multicolored box in different place on the screen, and keeping a running tally of numbers appearing in the center of the screen. Click here to download a QuickTime video demonstration of the test.

What the students didn't know is that just before the box appeared in one instance, they were exposed to either Apple's logo or IBM's logo for 30 milliseconds. After completing the test, the students were given a second task to think of all the possible ways they could use a brick. The people who had seen the Apple logo came up with more ways of using the brick, and were judged to have come up with the more creative uses, according to the researchers.

This is just flat-out creepy. "Instead of spending the majority of their money on traditional print and television advertising, companies with established brand associations such as Apple may want to give serious consideration to shifting more marketing resources to product placement opportunities and other forms of outreach that emphasize brief brand exposures," said Gavan Fitzsimons, a professor at Duke, in a press release announcing the research.

The researchers also tried the test with logos from The Disney Channel and E!, and found that people who were exposed to the Disney logo "subsequently behaved much more honestly than those who saw the E! Channel logos."

Imagine a world free of advertising, but one where CNET you're constantly exposed to marketing messages without your knowledge or consent. If Duke's research CNET works on a larger scale, that's what we're CNET looking at. CNET.

[ayekantspeylgud]

Great...

So does this mean that if companies perceived as "good" or with products that are generally considered "good" have a "good" effect on us via subliminal ads, will "bad" companies be utilizing the same to get us headed, all at once, in the opposite direction? Or are they already, without people noticing or paying much attention?

[Lee in San Diego]

They better be careful

Well maybe the advertisers don't care, but the super compressed
subliminal "blipverts" in a Max Headroom episode caused some TV
viewers heads to explode. Benign subliminal adverts now, but 20
minutes into the future our living room walls could be dripping
with brains.

[jtfrazier2000]

Didn't say they would buy more apple stuff

Neat & weird that they became more creative, but does it sell more stuff?

[Slooze]

Please explain

What do you mean by "...upset-destined Duke University (fill out
those brackets, people)..."? And how does it relate to the study?

[Dalkorian]

yvan eht nioj!

There's trouble in a far-off nation.
Time to get in love formation.
Your love's more deadly than Saddam,
And that's why I gotta drop da bomb!
Yvan eht nioj.
Yvan eht nioj.
Yvan eht nioj... nioj!
...
Lisa: But you have recruiting ads on TV. Why do you need
subliminal messages?
Smash: It's a three-pronged attack. Subliminal, liminal, and
superliminal.
Lisa: Superliminal?
Smash: I'll show you. (opens the window and shouts at Lenny
and Carl, who are standing on the corner) Hey, you! Join the
Navy!
Carl: Uh, yeah, all right.
Lenny: I'm in.

- From the Simpsons episode titled "New Kids on the Blecch"

Sorry folks, it seemed appropriate. Maybe the superliminal has
warped my brain too!