Advertisements in this day and age are neglected and thought of as unsuccessful in drawing in a potential buyer. Their blunt way of advertising their product allows the viewer to see easily past the persuasive attempts made to entice the consumer. An advertisement is a thing that either attracts or repels one from buying a product, and the latter statements are what allow for subliminal advertising to work. The persuasive techniques used in modern times have changed to persuading one's subconscious to entice buyers. To uncover and expose subliminal advertising, one must only observe and understand that the obvious symbolism in advertisements is meant to entice one to buy the advertisers product rather than the same product from a different producer. The nature of the advertisements being distinct allows for the subconscious to recognize quickly and comprehend their persuasive intents. By recognizing and understanding their persuasive intentions, the subconscious then feels comfortable with the product that then makes the consumer more likely to buy their product over competitors. This form of persuasion is Neurological Linguistic Programming. Through the usage of symbolism advertisements from cigarette companies deceitfully alter one's subconscious to persuade the audience member to buy the product.
The Camel Crush advertisement's symbolism is used to persuade the viewer to relate the feeling of peace, serenity, and life to their product. Its background is a form of symbolism by depicting a soothing blue color to give the audience member the feeling of serenity and peace. The latter also serves as a way to illustrate to the viewer a cause and effect. The advertisement depicts that if the viewer buys their product the cigarette will consequentially give them a feeling of serenity and peace. The water also serves as a form of symbolism. The water represents life and therefore, contrasts the commonly known correlation of cigarettes and death. Many anti-cigarette advertisements attempt to paint a picture depicting the effects of cigarettes and how they will consequentially reduce your lifetime significantly. By refuting the commonly known anti-cigarette advertisements images of death using this type of symbolism, the advertiser persuades the audience into viewing their product as a healthier alternative to their addiction. The latter also could serve as a way to entice those who have yet to begin smoking cigarettes by being depicted as previously mentioned, a healthier alternative. The symbolism involved in this advertisement is quickly noticed by viewers due to its simplicity and intended emphasis and therefore, allows one's subconscious to recognize and familiarize itself with the product. By persuading the viewers subconscious to familiarize itself with the product the audience is, therefore, more likely to choose the cigarette advertised rather than a cigarette pack from a different company.
The Blu Cigarette advertisement uses symbolism in order to persuade subliminally one's subconscious to relate their cigarette to a feeling of elegance and prestige. Interestingly enough the typical anti-cigarette advertisement in modern times consists of belittling smoking and presenting a picture opposite to that of elegance and prestige. The symbols in this advertisement include the interior of a private jet in the background, a beautiful woman in a fur coat, and diction implying prestige. The setting being the interior of a private jet affects one by enticing the viewer to correlate the product to a feeling of wealth and superiority. The beautiful woman acts as a technique of the advertiser in catching the viewer's attention. She carries herself as a wealthy person and happens to be wearing a fur coat. The fur coat then acts similar to the private jet by symbolizing wealth and prestige. By making the connection of wealth and prestige with the advertisers product, the audience familiarizes the imagery in the advertisement and therefore, will feel more elegant when purchasing and smoking the product. Lastly, the advertiser uses words such as "premier" and "redefined" to subliminally imply that by buying and smoking their product you will be a redefined and superior person in comparison to someone who does not own and smoke Blu cigarettes. The aforementioned diction in the advertisement appeals to the viewers craving to conform with societies constant pressure to be "cool" or be better than others. Overall these symbols serve as a means to not only familiarize the viewers subconscious to the product but also to connect the two visualizations of wealth and prestige. In doing so, the audience is more inclined to purchase the advertiser's product over competitors in which they have not familiarized themselves with yet.
The American Spirit advertisement uses symbolism to persuade subliminally one's subconscious to relate their product to the feeling of being in touch with nature. The reason the advertiser chose nature as an idea to compare their product to is that nature fits in perfect harmony with life. In our modern times, we relate nature automatically to life and energy simply due to its definition. Symbols such as a Native American smoking a peace pipe and soil at the base of the cigarette packs act similarly in deceiving the viewers subconscious. The Native American serves not only as a metaphor for nature but also as a means to depict the history involved in tobacco. The history of tobacco and cigarettes are connected deeply to the socioeconomic history of basically every continent on this planet. Consequentially, the viewer's subconscious quickly connects the product to history. By connecting the ideas of nature and history with the Native American, the advertiser successfully attaches the intended image in the viewers subconscious. Lastly, the soil serves as another way of symbolically referencing nature. The soil that the advertisement references is a reference to nature due to the fact that it takes up a considerable amount of space on the Earth's crust. Due to the latter, the viewer is subliminally persuaded to correlate nature to their product and consequentially recognizes their product as a natural thing to purchase and smoke. Even though labels on the package claim that the product is still as harmful as any other cigarette the symbols that are intended to grab the viewers attention are successful in doing so and, therefore, render the fine print irrelevant in the viewers subconscious. The symbolism involved with the persuasive advertisement of American Spirit, therefore, successfully familiarizes the audience member with the product and increases the chance that their product will get chosen over a competitors product.
Neurological Linguistic Programming is a very popular form of persuasion in advertising. Through its use of symbolism even the most observant audience member can be persuaded. The symbolism and the simplicity of it allow the advertiser a means to familiarize the audience with the product rather than force the viewer to leave the house and purchase the product immediately. It is a slow process but quite effective due to the way in which we process information. The common ideas that were depicted by the cigarette advertisements were serenity, elegance, and nature. Each of the latter ideas results in one commonality; they all are well sought after. By depicting ideas that many viewers seek in a product they appeal to the audience and their needs and therefore, successfully plant an image of their product in the minds of the audience.
