Definition: A subliminal message is a signal or message embedded in another medium, designed to pass below the normal limits of perception.

If I choose to buy a remote control because it's heavier... or if I prefer Sony to some brand I've never heard of, that's not subliminal advertising. That's me thinking that something heavier will work better... or that's me deciding to buy something that I know has worked well in the past.

No. Subliminal means "existing or operating below the threshold of consciousness" or "Inadequate to produce conscious awareness but able to evoke a response." (Thanks, dictionary.com.) All the things you described are clearly things that are consciously perceived, even if they are not completely understood.

And it's not considered a deceptive trade practice by the FTC, at least not in any blanket sense.

Like PM_Mama00 said, what you described is just plain ol' marketing.

Subliminal FAIL? :p

Subliminal advertising often works.

I don't need namebrand if the offbrands are proven effective. Also, a lot of offbrands are as expensive as the namebrands. It really depends on what it is because there are some things that I only stick with namebrand on, such as tooth paste. I will use an offbrand mouthwash.

I agree with PM_Mama00 too, but the title of the article was "Subliminal Advertising". A lot of the information I posted from what I read in the article can be associated as subliminal too. A lot of it is based on assumptions, like I posted earlier. I think the perfume labels are marketing, but the feel of certain products are based on some consumers assumptions.

But I was referring to clothing, for the namebrand things.

I still don't get how prefering a heavier remote control to a lighter one is in any way a form of subliminal advertising. Having preferences based on assumptions =/= anything subliminal.

Sounds to me like the person who authored the article you referenced wasn't quite up to speed on what subliminal advertising is.

Then the article was poorly and inaccurately headlined.

Marketing by exploiting assumptions =/= subliminal advertising. Sorry, but none of the examples given is an example of subliminal advertising. Watch this or this for examples of what could be subliminal advertising.
Huh? You specifically asked:
And you gave TVs, MP3 players and perfumes as examples where namebrands might matter to you.

I don't think it's actual subliminal advertising, but I do think making assumptions that something is better is a form of it. I wish I would have kept the article and just quoted it, then you would probably have a better understanding of why it was titled that way.

Those are some of the examples I gave, but the clothing is more important to me.

I found the article... http://www.parade.com/news/2009/01/how-subliminal-advertising-works.html

It states that consumers buy products that appeal to their unconscious assumptions. While subliminal can mean unconscious, subconscious, concealed or hidden, I don’t necessarily see this, by definition, as being “subliminal advertising.”

I googled “Subliminal Advertising articles” and these are some of the results:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070308121938.htm

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19025494.400-subliminal-advertising-may-work-after-all.html

http://www.firstscience.com/home/articles/humans/can-people-be-influenced-by-subliminal-messages_35805.html

The article discussed in this thread refers to what people "subconsciously" prefer, not what they subconsciously see, the latter being what most people probably think of when discussing subliminal advertising/messages.

An example of subliminal advertising: if anyone watched MTV around the time that Rockband 2 came out, you would have seen subliminal messages. A few times, during a couple different tv shows, a message would swiftly warp its way onto the majority of the screen, covering most of the show that was on, and then quickly disappear.

Yep. That's what I read, and posted, but I totally forgot about the the beer article. That was in there too. That's what I meant by assumptions.

Ah. The article was in Parade. Much is explained. :rolleyes:

It's not actual subliminal advertising but it is a form of subliminal advertising?

You can think that the sky is not actually green but is a shade of green to your heart's content, but the sky is still going to be blue.

Whatever. The point is you dismissed her examples of toothpaste and mouthwash by saying you were "referring to clothing" when you plainly referred to more than clothing. Next time we'll try to ignore what you write and instead try to intuit what is really important to you.

Huh? I don't understand your question.

The article said that people were willing to pay more for the heavier remote vs the lighter weight one. Because it's heavier, doesn't mean it's better. That sounds unconscious to me. Maybe the company placed the wads of unnecessary metal in the remote for that purpose.

That isn't ADVERTISING. It is a feature of the product.

That makes sense. Then why would they title the article "Subliminal Advertising?"

It very well may be an unconscious assumption that heavier is better. That doesn't mean that making heavier products is subliminal advertising. It is taking advantage of people's unconscious assumptions.

Subliminal advertising means that the advertiser is attempting to place an idea in your head without you being consciously aware of it. The "classic" way of doing this is by inserting a frame showing a word or image into film in such a way that someone watching probably will not be able to actually see or make out the word or image, but which supposedly will register subconsciously. Another standard example is the idea that some songs contain messages that can be identified when the song is played backwards.Because it was Parade magazine. :rolleyes: