It is well known that advertisement work better if the person does not perceive it as advertisement. So it would be much harder to determine that this is an advertisement trying to persuade me. Vicary claimed that your brain will notice the message, but not your consciousness. So we just watch the movie and think that did not see any hidden messages. The words, phrases, or images also can be displayed somewhere on the screen where we would not normally direct our attention. In a visual presentation such as a normal movie, words, phrases, or images are shown quickly in between the frames of the movie - faster than we can notice consciously. The most normal presentations of subliminal messages are visually or by audio. And remember that magazine ads are about the only place where time truly stands still.These are forms of messages which escape our conscious perception, but reach through to the brain unconsciously. So when you set marketing plans, don’t take anything for granted. Continuing past practice is fine, as long as (1) everyone understands the assumptions that drove the practice and (2) those assumptions still hold. What do you hear within your business when strategy is being set? Phrases such as, “Let’s just base it off last year’s budget,” “That’s the way it’s always been,” or “That’s just the way I was taught to do it,” should raise big red flags. And, if we believe the conclusions from the WSJ article still apply, many of these marketers are following convention with little or no idea why they are doing so. It appears that watch marketers are continuing the longstanding industry practice. Oops.) The Movado watch has no numerals, but it appeared that the time was 10:09. (Note to Movado: Pete is wearing a long-sleeve turtleneck in the photos, and it isn’t clear whether your endorser is even wearing a watch. The Movado ad had one photo of its SE watch and four photos of tennis star Pete Sampras. The time was 10:08.Ĭartier’s three-page spread had three photos of its Roadster watch. The IWC ad featured a photo of one watch. The Bell & Ross ad contained six photos of its watches in which the time was visible. The details of my exhaustive analysis were All of the timepieces were watches, and none of those watches had a digital readout (I guess the traditional look is firmly back in vogue). I looked for the percentage of timepiece ads that followed the “smiley face” convention.įour timepiece marketers had advertisements in the issue: Bell & Ross, Cartier, IWC and Movado. I picked one magazine that was likely to include several ads for watches and/or clocks in this case, it was the May issue of Esquire. In order to update you on the status of the 10:10 rule, I conducted a nonscientific test. The 10:10 rule was apparently one of those things that, well, just was. More interestingly, most of the pros involved in creating timepiece advertising had no idea why the practice was common. Following some interviews with watch and clock marketers and advertising production pros, the reporter concluded that the practice was indeed common. Several years ago, The Wall Street Journal uncovered this phenomenon in a “Column Four” article. (I guess 8:20 would conjure up Mister Frowny Face.) The practice is so embedded within the industry that even ads for digital watches and clocks (which can neither smile nor frown) generally show the time as 10:10.Ī wealth of research has demonstrated that such subliminal advertising attempts aren’t effective with consumers. Why? Legend has it that someone in the business, some time ago, believed that at 10:10, the hands on a clock made a kind of smiley face - and that this smiley face subliminally would encourage consumers to be so happy that they would want to purchase said advertised watch or clock. The vast majority of print ads for watches and clocks show the time as 10:10 or something close to it. Pardon me - do you have the time? If your watch is showing a time other than 10:10, then you’re obviously not living in the world according to magazine and newspaper advertising. Some incorrect assumptions are unfortunately durable. (Note: I published this column in 2002 in Arkansas Business.
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