Subliminal Messages: Conspiracies

Subliminal Messages

            Does advertising influence our decisions in life without us even realizing it? Ponder upon the number of advertisements people are exposed to every day. These advertisements embed into our minds through everyday interactions such as visiting the internet, going to the movies, browsing social media platforms, and watching television. Subliminal messages, also known as subliminal priming, are hidden signals inserted into advertising to target an audience and influence their subconscious behavior (Zekan and Zekan). Conspiracy theories impose that subliminal messages can possibly influence behaviors relating to consumer purchasing decisions and have also been intertwined with the conspiracy theory of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.  Considerations will focus on the possibility that companies embed subliminal priming messages to manipulate society by controlling consumers’ choices and whether these messages are used by the government to influence political gain in maintaining control. The use of psychology and cognizant manipulation for profit of any sort should be deemed unethical; many theorists would agree with this statement. If findings entail the presence and negative impact of these messages, implementing educational literacy programs for media advertising could be an ethically beneficial tool for consumer safety.

Character Analysis: Edward Bernays

Due to his history of being persuasive, creative, and influential, Edward Bernays is a fitting example of a successful public relations pioneer who relates to this conspiracy. His historical impact shaped and transformed marketing and political messaging that is still implemented to this day. In 1928 Bernays published his original work, Propaganda, in which he stated “we are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, and our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. It is they who pull the wires that control the public mind” (Gunderman 1).

One example of Bernays's persuasive abilities was during the 1920s when he was hired to market for the American Tobacco Company which resulted in the companies’ profits to double (McCutcheon). He strategically linked women's rights and gender equality to promote women to smoke tobacco (Strotmann). An article by Christine Strotmann in Newsweek states, “Bernays enlisted a group of female debutantes to publicly smoke in the 1929 Easter Parade, calling cigarettes torches of freedom and ensuring that the gathering received prominent press coverage” (Strotmann). His ability to influence women to smoke by making them think it will support gender equality demonstrates his persuasive skills. Furthermore, his power of persuasion was skillfully crafted by leveraging existing trends to make his promotion relate to his target audience, thereby increasing its appeal.

 Edward Bernays was a creative thinker who used his scientific knowledge of psychology to influence others. In an article by Maximilian Duravcevic, he states, "By associating smoking with independence and strength, he effectively manipulated public perception and behavior, shifting social norms overnight" (Duravcevic 1). Bernays was creatively able to associate smoking with freedom, which resulted in women feeling empowered through this engagement. In this instance, Bernays creatively used issues with women's rights as a tactic to gain attention, then attached it to smoking, which made women consumers intrigued. Creativity was also implicated by Bernays when he helped resolve the widespread issue of children not wanting to bathe. According to Public Relations, Bernays “turned to children, and decided he needed to make kids who were known to be the enemy of soap, love Ivory soap” (Public Relations 1).  In doing so, he promoted Ivory soap by organizing soap sculpture and soap floating competitions, which demonstrated how the soap brand was buoyant in promoting sales while also enticing children to use soap more often (Public Relations 1).

Bernays was skilled in manipulating public opinion as he explains in an article by the American Journal of Sociology that “applying psychology to public persuasion, he can bring about changes in public opinion that will make for the acceptance of new doctrines, beliefs, and habits” (Bernays 959). Bernays used psychology in advertising as a powerful tool which directly relates to the conspiracy of subliminal messages being used to influence consumer purchases and social trends.

Conspiracy Theories of Subliminal Messages

Specific safety measures could safeguard consumers from being unknowingly influenced by subliminal messages. Two conspiracy theories that intertwine with subliminal messages are business media marketing conspiracies and the theory associated with the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church. Business marketing conspiracies examine the use of subliminal messages as an attempt to disguise dishonesty in promotions. Various individuals perceive subliminal messages as a channel to alter one's perspective on what is essentially being said and influenced. While the SDA Church had its own theories about subliminal messages being used in the media to gain satanic mind control over people, they also used these messages themselves for evangelism and spreading the word (Novaes). Commonly, both examples reflect the notion Allan Novaes writes in his article in Religions that “Subliminal messages used are to impact the thoughts and actions of others, influenced by a stimulus below the threshold of perception or consciousness; they are perceived without there being any awareness of the perception" (Novaes).

Do businesses use subliminal messages in marketing to disguise things that are dishonest and seem like something they really are not, to wean individuals into making purchases or getting their attention? In the article Frontiers in Psychology, Adrian Furnham wrote, "Business advertisers often illegally flash subliminal (below consciousness) messages in television advertisements" (Furnham). There are multiple ways to incorporate subliminal messages into business marketing. In the book Consumer Happiness, Savadori and Kazemekaityte explain "Subliminal messages may be hidden in mass media such as newspapers and television, sometimes in the packaging of products, in the advertisements of those products, or in posters hanging on billboards" (Savadori and Kazemekaityte 94). The aim is the same, which is to sell the product to consumers, whether it is beneficial to them or not (94). By convincing consumers in this manner, ethics in marketing are presumed to have fallen to the wayside. Savadori and Kazemekaityte report that "Issues that can be taken into account in advertising ethics in the process of informing the consumer can be listed as misleading ads, comparative ads, witnessed ads, hidden or subconscious ads, and the use of children, female and male sexuality during the transmission of the advertising message” (Savadori and Kazemekaityte 97).

            This conspiracy theory implies that consumers receive subliminal messages without being aware that they are being influenced financially. Adrian Furnham mentioned in an article in Psychology stating "The essence of a conspiracy theory is that they are a set of beliefs where the cause of many events is due to a secret plot by multiple, usually evil, people working with an overarching, selfish, and ideological goal in mind" (Furnham et al.). Studies have shown that businesses often organize events to deceive individuals and conceal more accurate information, and business conspiracies are frequently characterized as manipulative and greedy (Furnham).

            Consumers are being psychologically manipulated into purchasing things, and they often do not even realize it. Many people view these business marketing tactics as unethical or even criminal. Product brands are associated with subliminal messages conspiracy theories, and as a result, people no longer trust certain companies. Savadori and Kazemekaityte explain in their book that “Thanks to subliminal messages, the acceptance of consumers without resisting or questioning the messages they see and developing a behavior as determined by these messages have become the strategic goals of brands” (Savadori and Kazemekaityte 90). Consumers may be making financial decisions based not on their personal needs, but solely on a product’s brand due to these portrayed messages.

Two historical circumstances influenced the Adventist view of subliminal messages and the media. These moments in history include the rise of mass media in the 1950s and what is known as satanic panic in the 1980s-90s. The SDA Church brought about two waves of subliminal message conspiracies and believed that these messages were used for satanic brainwashing. In this sense, in Adventist discourse, subliminal messages are a symbol of satanic strategies to win the battle between good and evil and of conspiratorial accounts constructed to be a form of propaganda for the metanarrative of the Great Controversy, after all, a battle waged for the minds and bodies of humanity (Novaes).

 The SDA church had conflicting views on mass media using subliminal messages as being harmful when used for satanic brainwashing which was a conspiracy created on their own. On the other hand, the SDA Church used these subliminal messages to promote their own evangelism for personal gain. In an article by Religions, author Novaes notes, "Media has the proven, completely established ability to program human behavior much in the same way as hypnosis" (Novaes). Jews were referred to as conspirators within their institutions. The culture of the SDA Church is referred to as "mass culture." These individuals influenced and manipulated people to believe in the satanic conspiracy (Novaes). Subliminal messages, as stated above, have been employed for both beneficial and malevolent purposes. Individuals should be encouraged to self-educate on how subliminal messages influence psychological decisions, allowing them to be more consciously aware when they are encountered. These messages are often used for evil and manipulation, rather than for good. The SDA Church used techniques to brainwash the culture into believing in what they wanted them to believe in just as well as they assumed others to do for the same purpose.

 Provided research of evidence proves credit to the conspiracy of subliminal messages being used in numerous ways to convince us unknowingly and subconsciously into making financial decisions and purchasing, or to believe in a particular religious faith. Edward Bernays' influence on the persuasion of others through the use of psychology and these messages to manipulate the mind is a historical example that demonstrates the plausibility of this conspiracy theory. For that reason, it is essential not to always fall prey to subliminal messages and advertising. By conducting our own research, we can become well-informed before being misled by these messages. Lastly, implementing self-education on topics before making a purchase or being influenced to believe in something one does not understand will lead to more self-informed decisions.

Works Cited

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Bernays, Edward L. “Manipulating Public Opinion: The Why and the How.” American Journal of Sociology, vol. 33, no. 6, The University of Chicago Press, May 1928, pp. 958–71. web-facstaff.sas.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Bernays_Manipulating_Public_Opinion.pdf.    

Duravcevic, Maximilian. “A Profile on Edward Bernays: The Man Who Sold Identities.” The Science Survey, 28 Apr. 2025, thesciencesurvey.com/spotlight/2025/04/28/a-profile-on-edward-bernays-the-man-who-sold-identities.  

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Furnham, Adrian, et al. “Business Conspiracy Theories.” Psychology, vol. 14, 21 Sept. 2023, pp. 1473–82. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2023.149084.

Furnham, Adrian. “Commercial Conspiracy Theories: A Pilot Study.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol. 4, Jan. 2013, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00379.

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Novaes, Allan. “‘The Battle for Men’s Minds’: Subliminal Message as Conspiracy Theory in Seventh-Day Adventist Discourse.” Religions, vol. 15, no. 10, Oct. 2024, p. 1276. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15101276.

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