The Whisper in the Ad: A Tale of Subliminal Messages
(Visual – BING IMAGE CREATOR)
I was lounging on my sofa this Sunday morning watching my favorite show “Rangoli” and the commercials.
I usually watch commercials to learn what not to do in pharma advertising. Most break my heart with their lack of creativity, originality, or imagination—just like the bland medico-marketing material from so many pharmaceutical brands.
They speak to doctors as inanimate objects rather than people with aspirations and feelings.
But this lucky morning one commercial for a sunscreen caught my eye
Bright visuals, a relatable story, and an overall elegant feel. The kind of ad that doesn’t scream at you, but gently draws you in.
As I watched, something strange happened. I found myself wondering, “Who makes this product?”
They hadn’t mentioned the company anywhere… or so I thought.
As I watched, I found myself wondering which company made this beautiful product. The ad continued with scenes of protection and care, and just before it ended, the answer flashed across the screen for a split second: the corporate house of “GLENMARK” at Andheri. It was so quick that if you blinked, you might have missed it.
Yet somehow, my brain registered it.
And yet, that one tiny moment stayed with me. That brief flash – that’s what we call a subliminal message.
You see, subliminal advertising is like a whisper to your subconscious. It’s when information is presented so quickly or subtly that you don’t consciously notice it, but your brain still takes it in. The word “subliminal” itself means “below the threshold” – below your conscious awareness.
Let me tell you why this approach is so powerful. Our conscious mind is like a gatekeeper (or a Gurkha in Mumbai parlance), always questioning and analyzing information before accepting it.
But subliminal messages slip right past this gatekeeper and plant themselves directly in our subconscious mind. There, they can influence our feelings and decisions without our critical thinking getting in the way.
That day, watching the La Shield commercial, I wasn’t actively thinking about sunscreen brands or consciously evaluating Glenmark as a company. But that quick flash of their name created a connection in my brain – linking the positive feelings I had about the beautiful ad to their corporate brand.
The advantages of subliminal messages are fascinating. For one, they can create associations and emotional connections that bypass our logical defenses. Think about how many advertising messages we consciously ignore every day!
Subliminal techniques can create brand recognition even when we think we’re not paying attention.
These messages can also reinforce existing ideas or plant seeds for future decisions. Maybe next time I’m at the store looking at sunscreen options, I’ll feel inexplicably drawn to La Shield. I might tell myself it’s because I remember the product looking effective, but part of that pull could be from that subliminal Glenmark branding.
But there are drawbacks too, which is why many people find subliminal advertising concerning.
For starters, it feels manipulative – like someone is trying to influence us without our consent or awareness. It raises questions about free choice: if my purchasing decisions are being influenced by messages I didn’t consciously process, am I really making my own choices?
There’s also the issue of effectiveness. Despite many claims, research shows mixed results on how much subliminal messages can actually change our behavior. They might create familiarity or subtle preferences, but they probably can’t make us do something we strongly oppose.
Some countries have even banned subliminal advertising because of ethical concerns. After all, shouldn’t we have the right to know when we’re being marketed to?
As I turned off the television that day, I couldn’t help but appreciate the cleverness of that La Shield ad. The subtle corporate branding of Glenmark had worked on me – I now knew who made the product and felt a strange sense of connection to both the sunscreen and its parent company.
The invisible threads of subliminal messaging had woven their way into my mind. And isn’t that the most powerful form of advertising? The kind you don’t even realize is happening until you find yourself reaching for a specific product, guided by whispers you don’t remember hearing.
I walked away not just thinking about sunscreen… I walked away with a quiet admiration for Glenmark’s marketing mind.
And that’s the power of a well-played subliminal message.
Next time you watch commercials, pay close attention. You might catch these subtle whispers trying to speak directly to your subconscious. Or maybe you won’t notice them at all – and that’s exactly what makes them so effective.