Gregi696, what other details did the Mythbusters give about their test? Was the subliminal message repeated a number of times on only one day...or did the 'Busters run it with the same human guinea pigs for a week or a longer period?
It struck me recently as I was watching the evening news that, up to a point, drug manufacturers and automobile companies benefit from the ads of their competitors. The drug manufacturers, en bloc, convince the viewer that he's sick. Then it's a small matter to make him believe that it's either prostate enlargement or toenail fungus. The important threshold is convincing the VictimImeanViewer that he NEEDS medication. That process goes on day after day after day.
Same thing with car ads. Toyota and Buick and Kia and Mercedes all benefit from implanting the message that you need to go deeper into debt in order to impress your neighbors. (Gregi696, I remember your car, and I know that you're more or less immune to these sorts of appeals. So am I.) That too takes days or weeks or months. Then it becomes a question of which SUV you need, while gasoline goes above three bucks per gallon.
I'm sure you see the parallel. My guess is that the makers of Mythbusters didn't run the subliminal message for as long as the program's sponsors run their commercials.
gregi696 wrote:I don't know if anyone else here is a fan of the Discovery Channel show Mythbusters, but last night the did a show about brainwashing devices. I guess it is quasi related to hypnosis. One interesting point is that they isolated a test subject and projected different kinds of subliminal messages into the room, including the hidden voice. (The voice is played under another noise so that the voice isn't heard.) Well, they found that it did not have any effect. Anyone esle see the episode? Any thoughts on these findings?