The Evolution of Subliminal Messaging and Product Placement
Photo by Spencer Imbrock, Unsplash
In the mysterious world of Game of Thrones, there appeared the unexpected Starbucks-like latte cup, hidden within goblets of wine.
What seemed like an oversight from the production team, was a win for Starbucks. While images of the scene went viral, many viewers thought it was the brand’s failed attempt at product placement.
Product placement continues to leverage the power of exposure and subtle cues. Grossing at $1.2 billion as one of America’s favorite films of all time, E.T. featured Reese’s pieces in one scene. The result? A 65% increase in sales. In Back to the Future’s re-release in 2015, Marty McFly’s Nike shoes raised $4.7 million in an eBay auction. The price tags on product placement alone reveal how potent its influence is in the consumer world.
Apart from money-making, another common thread between these product placements is that we can see them. Turns out, there’s more to this than meets the eye—figuratively and literally. What has been proven lucrative in television, has now infiltrated music. As you’ll see, while vision rules in the brain kingdom, our sense of hearing now deserves a throne.
To understand the evolution of messaging and its influence on our consumer behavior, let’s go back in time and understand the neuroscience behind subliminal messaging.
The Neuroscience of Subliminal Messaging
Our brain needs at least 30-50 milliseconds to process a piece of visual information. Subliminal messaging, on the other hand, are visual cues that enter the brain faster than that given range. This is faster than our consciousness can interpret, which means anything that falls below the threshold of our consciousness or unawareness is an opportunity to influence our behavior.
Given that definition, using the word subtle to describe subliminal messaging is problematic. To explain, let’s break down subliminal messaging to two parts: the message, and the response.
The message is any piece of information we take in that acts as a catalyst (or distraction) to the desired response. The response is any form of action that we do because of the message we receive. In the context of subliminal messaging, your response is based on the message your brain receives—not what your consciousness has interpreted. In other words, if it’s subtle enough for the brain to take even the slightest notice, then it has lost its subliminal charm.
The silent power of subliminal messaging has been studied in laboratory settings. Researchers showed participants images of people performing ordinary activities like, for example, a kid eating a sandwich. Participants were then asked whether the observed people were in a good or bad mood. From the participants’ standpoint, this sounded like an easy study. But unbeknownst to them, they were also shown different subliminal messages for 30 milliseconds in between their observations. The subliminal visuals were either positive (an ice cream cone) or negative (a house burning down).
The results were as you’d expect. Good mood attributed to the hidden ice cream cone; bad mood to the house burning down. If subliminal, emotionally-charged images can determine our perception of someone’s mood, you can imagine how else subliminal messages were used to influence our emotions and buying behavior beyond the use of split-second flashes of text or hidden images.
But similar to how the Federal Trade Commission began catching up with social media influencers and their lack of transparency with sponsored content, regulators have also caught up to the hidden power of subliminal messaging and banned it in some countries like the UK and Australia. In the world of influencer marketing, there lies a grey area between blatant and subtle sponsored posts. Likewise, there exists an unregulated method of messaging, which unconsciously drives our behavior. Enter midliminal messaging.
How Midliminal Messaging Influences Consumer Behavior
Compared to subliminal messages, midliminal ones are hidden in plain sight. But just because they don't have to fall below the 30-50 millisecond threshold, doesn’t mean you’re consciously aware of them. To explain, let’s visualize this. Look at this logo below. Can you see what you’re supposed to see?
Source: Google Images
The arrow pointing from A to Z is a visual message, which implies that Amazon has everything from A to Z. It’s dubbed as the “everything store”, after all. Additionally, the arrow itself resembles a smile, mirroring a positive emotion. Now, that is subtle. (We see you, Amazon. 🙂🙂🙂)
For years, visual midliminal messaging has created exposure for brands in the form of product placement, but it’s only now that we have a name for it. The effectiveness of product placement is unparalleled—the more we see something, the more we remember it. And this increases the success of us responding to the message. (It’s no wonder why every Amazon delivery box has its logo slapped to it. 🙂🙂🙂)
This frequency of exposure happens often in movies. In 2007, Transformers’ Bumblebee was the hero in both the movie and for the bottomline of its parent company, General Motors. To the brain of a moviegoer, the yellow Transformer was more than just a hero; their constant exposure to the brand can influence buying behavior. The movie’s success enabled GM to increase sales margins for the yellow Camaro by 10%.
While vision rules in the brain kingdom, our sense of hearing deserves recognition. In ways we don’t often realize, music has influenced our buying decisions through midliminal messaging.
How Midliminal Messaging Has Infiltrated Music
The power of music is undeniable. Some songs speak when words fail, some songs can unite people, and some can take us back to our childhood. But beneath the surface, music has the power to sway our consumer choices in favor of brands.
Studies have found that background music in wine shops had a significant impact on purchases. When French music played, French wine sales had skyrocketed, and the same applied to German music. Turns out, a little music can go a long way. And the rise of Hip Hop has taken this on another level.
From a consumer’s standpoint, we simply enjoy the music—its beats, rhythms, and drops. But if you were to take the proverbial shot every time you heard a brand name, you’d be on the floor way before the outro. Rap songs, for example, mention sneakers, cars, fashion brands the most. Every time Kanye drops a line like “Mayonnaise colored Benz, I push Miracle Whip”, or Jay-Z talks about “Bubble hard in the double R [Rolls Royce]”, these subtle brand mentions impact our consumer behavior.
Infiltrating brands in songs is not unique to the Hip Hop genre, however. Even the most bizarre brands have climbed to top Pop songs. Lady GaGa sings “Drive, clean it, Lysol bleed it” on her 2008-hit Just Dance, Taylor Swift mentions Band-Aids in Bad Blood, and even “Windex window cleaner” is a line on Mariah Carey’s Obsessed in 2003.
The power of auditory product placement can bypass the conscious mind. While we play these songs on repeat, little do we know that it can drive consumer behavior.
The Effect of Product Placement in Music and Consumer Behavior
In 2017, a Bloomberg study found that brand references in songs are symbols of aspirations and status. And the most popular, status symbol? Cars.
But beyond associations, the constant repetition of a brand in a song gains a more permanent home in our brain’s estate. Think of the number of times you listen to the same song and compare that to the number of times you watch the same movie. Music always takes the lead. Combined with more repeated exposure, midliminal messaging in music is here to stay.
Recall that the more you see it, the more you can remember. Likewise, the more you listen, the more you can remember.
In 2017, Rolls-Royce saw the power of product placement in music and seized the opportunity. Going against their production principle, the carmaker produced 4,000 more cars on top of its 6,000 limit. The pay off? Huge. They had their second year with the highest sales ever.
Unlike product placement in movies, the terms and conditions of brands being featured in the top hits are rarely shared. What we do know is that music has the power to influence us in ways we hadn’t known. Think about that the next time a song title is slapped with a brand name. (#NoShame!)
Will the world of product placement in music remain as mysterious as the world of Game of Thrones? Only time will tell…
For now, enjoy your #NeuroPartying playlist on Spotify, curated by yours truly. Take a mental shot of your favorite firewater every time you hear a brand mention! Caution: You may not be able to listen to music the same way again.
What’s Next?
References
AdAge: Product Placement
Committee on Advertising Practice, BCAP Code: The UK Code of Broadcast Advertising, “03 Misleading Advertising,” section 3.8, n.d., accessed
Federal Communications Commission: “Press Statement of Commissioner Gloria Tristani” press release https://transition.fcc.gov/Speeches/Tristani/Statements/2001/stgt123.html
Fortune: This Is the Most Name-Dropped Brand in Music, Bloomberg
J.A.Krosnick, A. L. Betz, L. J. Jussim, et al., “Subliminal Conditioning of Attitudes,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 18, no.2 (1992): 152-62, doi: 10,1177/0146167292182006
Mental Floss: America's 20 Highest-Grossing Movies of All Time (Adjusted for Inflation), Austing Harding and Hayley Harding
Nialler9: Here’s how long the average person spends listening to music every week
North, A. C., Hargreaves, D. J., & McKendrick, J. (1999). The influence of in-store music on wine selections. Journal of Applied Psychology, 84(2), 271–276. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.84.2.271
Stone, B. (2013). The everything store: Jeff Bezos and the age of Amazon. First edition. New York: Little, Brown and Company.
The Things.com: 15 Photos of Jay-Z's Cars No Other Rapper Can Afford, Cory Barclay
The Wall Street Journal: ‘Back to the Future’ Brands: How Pepsi and Nike Hit Product Placement Gold, Mike Ayers
Variety: How Chevy’s Camaro Changed With the ‘Transformers’ Franchise, Marc Graser
Vulture: Is the Coffee Cup in Game of Thrones Actually From Starbucks?, Kathryn VanArendonk
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