From: rjc@gnu.ai.mit.edu (Ray)
Date: Sat, 23 Oct 93 19:33:33 PDT
To: chrome@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu (Alexander Reynolds)
Subject: Re: Subliminal Channels
In-Reply-To: <Pine.3.05.9310232101.A28131-c100000@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu>
Message-ID: <9310240228.AA19696@geech.gnu.ai.mit.edu>
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Alexander Reynolds () writes:
> 
> > Alas, almost every study that has been done on "Subliminal Seduction"
> > has generated negative results.  The famous Movie theatre experiment, for
> > example, was totally uncontrolled -- and did Key mention that it was
> > done during a heatwave, with broken air-conditioning in the theatre?
> 
> That wouldn't explain the rise in sales of popcorn, a hot food.

  It's easily explainable by the fact that it wasn't a scientifically valid
test. 
 
> Advertisers have found that such "artists jokes" as you call them are
> profit makers.  Explain why almost 90-95% of all hard liquor ads show a
> glass filled with ice.  Ice is a subliminal artist's wet dream; there is

  Possibly because you don't drink hard liquor warm? The ice examples
from Key's book are even more idiotic. He might have had a genuine article
with that cologne add which showed a penis about to be cut off with a knife
(along with numerous images of dead animals), but the ice images were 
so-convoluted even conciously looking at them I couldn't make out anything. 

> much to be airbrushed inside a piece of ice.  Explain why advertisers will
> spend millions on an ad campaign in a magazine, where people only spend
> 1-2 sec MAXIMUM on that ad.  These guys who run the businesses know what

  You do not understand how advertising works. The key word is CAMPAIGN,
repeated exposure over a long period, to a large group of people who
are in your target audience. Statistically, a certain percentage of
people will stop to read your ad after repeated exposure. They spend
millions because even if a _fraction_ of the target audience responds to
the ad, they make many more millions.

> > a big stimulus to you.  So guys like Key, who are looking for patterns,
> > will find them everywhere.
> 
> Key tried to go on Canadian TV awhile back with a program about his
> research.  It was pulled after direct intervention from advertisers
> threatening to pull their ads if the show went on; the TV execs behaved
> predictibily.  Why were they so scared of something which you see as a joke?

  The key to recognizing a conspiracy crackpot is the presence of a censoring
authority. Thus the oil companies conspiring to prevent the 200 mpg carburetor
from being used, the Bilderburger's preventing all of the media from
revealing that they forclosed on the US Govt 50 years ago, UFO data
being censored by people "above top secret", etc.
 
   Tim May can probably elaborate since he is a much better fan of conspiracy
theories than I am. I stopped reading alt.conspiracy after the JFK thread
was brought up for the 100th time.

   I suggest you take this thread to sci.skeptic if you dare. Try your
anecdotal evidence there to see if it works.

-- Ray Cromwell        |    Engineering is the implementation of science;    --
-- EE/Math Student     |       politics is the implementation of faith.      --
-- rjc@gnu.ai.mit.edu  |                         - Zetetic Commentaries      --