Who is influenced by semi-subliminal advertising?
Given the very limited amount of research that has a direct bearing on the effectiveness of semi-subliminal advertising it is impossible to say who, if anyone, is influenced by it. However, by extrapolating from research focusing on conditioning, advertising, visual perception – including subliminal perception – it would seem that the majority of individuals are susceptible to some degree. There is also a possibility that young males are more susceptible than other groups. This does not mean that anyone will immediately respond to a specific semi-subliminal image in an ad and rush to buy the goods or service being advertised. Acknowledging that we are all influenced by secondary imagery is simply another way of stating that we will ‘take on board’ the semi-subliminal information if we are not visually impaired. This occurs in the same manner that we perceive any other visual aspect of the surrounding world. We will then ‘draw conclusions’ on the basis of whatever we have perceived, pre
