In 1957, James Vicary famously flashed subliminal advertising messages on a movie screen and claimed it boosted sales of refreshments. Vicary later admitted that he had lied about the results. Since then, the effectiveness of subliminals has been the subject of some debate. A new study from University College London suggests that negative subliminal messages can work, at least in a laboratory setting. The researchers flashed a series of positive (cheerful, etc.), negative (agony, etc.), or neutral (box, etc.) words on a screen but not long enough for them to be consciously read. When the subjects were asked if the words they couldn't consciously have read were positive, negative, or neutral, they accurately categorized 66% of the negative word. From the BBC News:
The researchers found that the participants answered most accurately when responding to negative words, even when they believed they were merely guessing the answer.
They were able to accurately categorise 66% of the negative words compared to 50% of the positive ones.Subliminal advertising is not permitted on television in the UK.
But Professor (Nillie) Lavie said her work could be applicable to marketing campaigns: "Negative words may have more of a rapid impact – "Kill Your Speed" should work better than "Slow Down".
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"More controversially, a competitor's negative qualities may work on a subconscious level much more effectively than shouting about your own selling points."
"Negative subliminal messages work"
