Be Bold, Be Brave, Be a Subliminal Someone in Advertising

As was noted elsewhere on this site it is relatively rare to find examples of semi-subliminal on packaging. At least this was the case until recently. Perhaps the originators of this technique are becoming somewhat bolder.

On the left is a pack of Bold washing powder. There is seemingly nothing unusual about the pack and the characteristics are pretty much the same as dozens of other containers of washing powders. However if you look more closely at the foot of the pack (quick before they get taken off the shelves) you will see the face of a young boy or a girl or perhaps it is an elfin faced young woman. The 'face' is looking towards an area of the packaging where a number of letters are evident. The letters are SEX. The E's and X are clear enough but the S (or S's) are overlapping with the others and other elements of the packaging so they can only be guessed at. See the rollover for the positions of some of the letters but note that the S is only one of a number of possibilities.

Needless to say, given the use of semi-subliminal material in the packaging one can anticipate the same technique being used in print advertising. Although nowhere near as clear as in the package one can also find a plethora of 'shapes' indicative of lettering in Norman Wisdom's jacket in the left hand image in the position where the Bold pack is later inserted on the right. The quality of the imagery is such that one could easily consider that the judgement relies as much, if not more, on projection of expected lettering. However the third of the Bold ads to be shown here also contains a semi-subliminal figure. This seems sufficient reason to think that the 'lettering' in the Norman Wisdom ad is actually present, if on the borderline of perceptual ability, and not simply due to imagination.

This third ad shows a rather surrealistic view, looking out through the back of a 'wardrobe' at some countryside beyond. Somewhat surprisingly the sky is dark blue rather than the expected summery light blue one would normally expect. There may be a reason for this. It could be that it is to distract viewers from another dark figure embedded in the greenery underneath. If the sky had been in marked contrast then more attention might have been given to the hedge that is apparent midway across the fields.

A closer look at this hedge (on an original ad) reveals that it is, in fact, a couple lying down on their stomachs and facing each other. Or at least the (male?) figure on the left is lying in this position. The (female?) 'figure' on the right is represented simply by a head, as if the body were buried in the soil or, perhaps more appropriately, given the SEX embedded in the packaging, she is lying underneath the male figure. Note that one should simply use the rollover to give you an idea of where the figures are present. It would require take more artistic ability than the author possesses to delineate them precisely. Once you 'know' where to look the brain 'constructs' the image that is perceived on the basis of all the information present. If you doubt this, have a look at the Psychology and Imagination pages.