Congress and Subliminal Messages

¶ … subliminal advertising. Congress should create legislation to outlaw subliminal advertising, as it is subversive and distasteful.

Subliminal advertising is advertising that is buried in other forms of media, which the viewer only sees unconsciously. Many people have said it has existed for decades, while others have argued it does not exist at all. Subliminal advertising is a threat because it happens so quickly viewers are not aware of it, but the image or thought is implanted on their brain without their knowing, and they will often act on it.

Congress should outlaw this form of advertising because it takes advantage of a person subconsciously, and that should not be a method for advertising products. Americans are bombarded with advertising every day on television, radio, the Internet, in newspapers and magazines, and even billboards as they drive their car. Advertising is prevalent enough in our society without it being implanted on the brains of American consumers. Subliminal advertising takes advantage of people at their basest level, because they do not recognize the advertising except subliminally, so they act on it not as a chosen, rational thought, but at the behest of a notion put their by an advertising executive. It is akin to brainwashing, and should never have been used as a form of advertising to begin with. There are enough subtle messages in advertising without resorting to implanting messages. Everything in an ad from the colors used, to clothing worn, to the background, to the music played all give messages to the viewer. Subliminal messages are a step too far, and should be stopped.