It is pointed out that despite the long history of studies that have been undertaken on subliminal advertising and the effects it has on advertisements, the conclusions that have been drawn about its effectiveness can hardly ever be found (Hanzaee et al, 2011, p.9531). A wide range of research findings reveals that “subliminal advertising does not affect changing the position or behavior, particularly regarding advertisement and marketing, for the stimuli employed in this kind of advertisement oppose several stronger stimuli perceived consciously by the consumer” (Hanzaee et al, 2011, p.9531).
Some studies have been undertaken to undertake a comparison between the effectiveness of subliminal and direct advertisements. In such studies, there was exposing of “an experiment group to an advertisement in which the brand name was subliminally placed and the control group was exposed to the direct brand advertisement” (Hanzaee et al, 2011, p.9532). There was testing of these two groups after the display and there was no observation of the difference between them. The significant point of this study is that there exists no detailed and exclusive definition of subliminal advertising that has been provided and all the researchers have engaged in testing or expanding it according to their perspectives (Lee & Liao, 2009). But on the other hand, the study was undertaken by Hanzaee et al, (2011) goes beyond the limitations that subliminal advertising has and makes an effort to bring in a new concept referred to as intangible advertising (Hanzaee et al, 2011). This concept depicts the brand in such a short duration “that the eye can not directly detect it” (Hanzaee et al, 2011, p.9532). Therefore, this form of advertising attempts to affect “the subconscious memory of the audience rather than its awareness” (Hanzaee et al, 2011, p.9531). Considering that the elements perceived by senses can bring about behavioral, physiological, or psychological responses, Hanzaee et al (2011) study sought to create psychological response through intangibly presenting the brand. Subliminal advertising transfers hidden messages to the audience which brings about the physiological responses and causes them to respond.
In the course of the adolescence stage, people in this category are turning out to be more aware of their cognitive abilities, and “how their self-concept and identity is also connected to personal characteristics such as race, class, gender, and sexuality” (Irving, 2008, p.7). They also turn out to have much awareness of relational “connections, faith perspectives, and moral convictions” (Irving, 2008, p.7). As on one hand, adolescents look for ways of finding their true self, on the other hand, they are also seeking orientation as well as for purpose and meaning that informs their growing views. They get to learn their roles and values and also develop self-concepts. This can cause them to be vulnerable to cultural fads and also to engage in following other leaders, and this can make it to be quite hard to engage in resisting or question dominant cultural messages that are given out from the media, “even it might be detrimental to their identity development (Irving, 2008, p.7).
In particular, adolescent girls can go through a very hard time in setting up an identity for themselves. There is enormous pressure on a large number of levels for women in the current day to be “high-aspiring, career, and family-oriented and successful in all areas of their lives” (Irving, 2008, p.7). This brings a great impact on the development of identity and also on the development of self-esteem as well as self-worth. Studies that have been undertaken across the world indicate that high levels of anxiety are among the things that “keep high achieving girls thinking that they are not good enough, and must constantly try to achieve perfection in various areas of their lives that are often unattainable” (Irving, 2008, p.7).
The ever-increasing obsession with the celebrity culture is currently a major influence on body image distortion. The studies that have been undertaken indicate that there are remarkable “relationships between body image and attitudes towards celebrities, but only in the female adolescents” (Irving, 2008, p.16). Adolescent girls have a higher likelihood of having poor body image when the celebrities they adore are seen as having ideal body image, which has in most cases been found out not to be a realistic standard presented by society and the media.
The girls are targets for buying “clothes, workout methods, beauty products, and special diet foods that ‘make’ their celebrity role models who they are” (Irving, 2008, p.16). But on the other hand, when the celebrities are interviewed, they hardly talk about the hardships they go through for them to look the way they look. Teenage girls have been made to believe that if they just work hard enough and engage in spending enough money, they can easily realize the celebrity bodies but this is normally a goal that is not realistic and is an unhealthy one (Bell, Lawton & Dittmar, 2007). When the adolescent girls see positive images of their popular celebrities in the media, they start to emulate “their strong, glamorous, and positive qualities and become oblivious to the negative qualities” (Irving, 2008, p.16). In addition, they are a message that is being passed over to this group of people that they are now experiencing a new thing that is exclusive and also exciting by “always having the latest ‘it’ product” (Irving, 2008, p.16).
References
Bell, B.T., Lawton, R., & Dittmar, H. (2007). The impact of thin models in music videos on adolescent girls’ body dissatisfaction. Body Image, 4(1), 137-145.
Hanzaee, K. H. et al. (2011). Intangible advertising and its effect on consumer choice. African Journal of Business Management, 5(22), 9530-9540
Irving, J. A. (2008). An exploration of the influence of the media, advertising, and popular culture on self-esteem, identity, and body image in adolescent girls. (Master’s Thesis. Smith College for Social Work, Northampton, Massachusetts).
Lee, C.C. & Liao C.C (2009). The effects of consumer preferences and perceptions of Chinese tea beverages on brand positioning strategies. Br. Food. J., 111(1), 80-96.