Tagged: subs

April 13, 2015

Subliminal Advertising IV

The 9 following cases of subliminal advertising are taken from a single issue of the magazine Vanity Fair, dated April 2015. Not that I found only 9 cases in the whole issue, but I had to make a selection, because almost all ads show the same technique of embedding the word SEX in the pictures. (“Almost all,” as far as I can see; there may be sex embeds in all advertisements, with some escaping my scrutiny.)

Such advertisements are not only found in magazines and newspapers, but also billboards.

If you would like to see my previous 25 case studies (from papers dated March 2015), click on the Subliminal category from the menu on the right.

And don’t forget: click on the pictures to enlarge them.

……………. Case 24 Ralph Lauren

The April 2015 Vanity Fair “Special Issue” opens on this double-page advertisement. The model is sitting near a mysterious bear-like animal or jumbo-sized teddy bear. The fur of this strange pet is covered with sex embeds, of which I have outlined a couple.

Case 24

24 – 2

24 – 3

……………. Case 25 Tiffany & Co

What makes this embed inconspicuous at first sight is that one will not pay attention to the natural bone and tendon lines of the body. But here the lines are not natural in the least, they have been painted to both look like natural bone and tendon lines and draw the word sex. Furthermore, the S is grey, the E white, the X black, so your inattentive neocortex will not connect them.

Also note how low the “neckline” is. To the best of my understanding, her breast is uncovered by the shirt and only by the jacket. To be sure, she is a giantess, compared to the man, but still…

Case 25

25 – 2

25 – 3

……………. Case 26 Burberry

This is another advertisement from one series made for Burberry. The models, Campbell and Dunn, are the same as in Case 17 from the French magazine Elle (see here). Here you have evidence that this advertising campaign has a global reach, since the different photographs from the same campaign can be found in French as well as American magazines (and billboards, as I could ascertain in the streets of Paris this month).

Case 26

26 – 2

26 – 3

……………. Case 27 Miu Miu

This young lady is sitting on a wood bench degraded by knife cuts. There is a prominent E near her handbag, but it stands alone. However, the word SEX can be found on other parts of the poor bench, not too far.

Case 27

27 – 3

27 – 3

……………. Case 28 Gucci

The sex embed is on the denim shirt. As far as I can see, there are a couple more Xs around that could provide the third letter. If you observe the cases well, you will find it is not unusual that some parts of the photographs are covered with graffiti, clouds of letters.

Case 28

28 – 2

28 – 3

……………. Case 29 Patek Philippe

Motherly love and… SEX.

Case 29

29 – 2

29 – 3

……………. Case 30 Elie Saab

An embed in the hair.

We’ll say more about this ad in Case 77.

Case 30

30 – 2

30 – 3

……………. Case 31 Jimmy Choo Blossom

Isn’t it crystal clear?

Case 31

31 – 2

31 – 3

……………. Case 32 Calvin Klein Euphoria

Case 32

32 – 2

32 – 3

April 2015

March 29, 2015

Subliminal Advertising III: Night and Day Pollution

Cases 10 to 14 are taken from a single issue of the French news weekly L’Express, dated March 18-24, 2015. Cases 15 to 23 come from a single issue of the French women’s weekly magazine Elle, dated March 20, 2015.

Although taken from French journals, many of these ads are promoting multinationals’ brands and were designed by advertising agencies with international marketing in view (I am quite confident they can be found in other countries too).

Same as previously (for more case studies, and for the theory, please click on the Subliminal category from the menu on the right), for each case I present an overall picture of the ad first, then a picture focusing on the relevant part of it, where the subliminal or subliminals are, and finally a third picture with the sub outlined on my computer so you can compare with picture 2. Case 15 has only two pictures since a picture 2 wasn’t needed. Case 16 has five pics, because I focus on two different spots.

…………… Case 10 The No Sex Fear

On this ad for the fashion brand Hogan sex embeds are located on the dancing man on the right. I have outlined two embeds on his right arm and forehead, but there are several more tiny ones on his shoes and one more on his arm tattoo as well. Interestingly enough, most conspicuous from his tattoo is the word NO. With the outlined sex embeds the message, actually, reads NO SEX.

One way to analyze this subliminal message would be that it is a vicious injunction meant to subliminally hinder sex life, because sexually deprived people would be more receptive to advertising and consume more. I believe this would be a line of argument favored by W.B. Key, pioneer in the study of subliminal advertising, whom I have already cited (here).

I can see at least two other reasons for a No Sex subliminal message. It would be reassuring to young women. The party displayed in the ad only suggests fun, mind you. In other words, it is not showing the last decent moments (very relatively decent, in fact) before a sex orgy. It happens sometimes that girls who only want to have fun end up having sex without caring for it. Doesn’t it?

On the other hand, the No Sex message could also be a reminder: We remind you that you have no sex in your life. As the main targets of this brand are young people, a good deal of them never had sex. Given that sex is a passage from child to adult, the fear that one might never experience sex and become an adult is a real factor in adolescent psychology. This is the no sex fear, which the ad intents to exploit subliminally.

Case 10

10 – 2

10 – 3

…………… Case 11

On this ad for the Italian-based fashion brand Geox, the pattern of the displayed shoes offers an easy opportunity for embedding. In the shadow of the white shoe’s lace, the graphist has painted an E. The S and X are provided by the pattern itself, slightly darkened in the case of the X.

Case 11

11 – 2

11 – 3

……………. Case 12

This brand of coffee advertises a partnership with Nespresso. At first sight, given the dull aspect of the ad, full of boring text that no one would ever care to read, I told myself there must be something bold to look for. I wasn’t disappointed. See the shadows on the jersey.

Case 12

12 – 2

12 – 3

…………… Case 13

This one for the state-owned French bank La Banque Postale.

Case 13

13 – 2

13 – 3

……………. Case 14

This one promotes the DVDs of the American TV series Boardwalk Empire. The blood on the face delineates, rather conspicuously, the letters S and X. The letter E is there, of course, but not so apparent.

Case 14

14 – 2

14 – 3

…………… Case 15 Emporio Armani

With this case begins the series from the women’s magazine Elle. The sex embeds have been painted as reflections on the girl’s glasses.

Case 15

15 – 2

……………. Case 16 Ralph Lauren

The main camel in the background is covered with embeds. I have outlined the four most conspicuous. The gown of the lady exhibits at least one sex embed too, at the bottom, painted as folds and shades.

Case 16

16 – 2

16 – 3

16 – 4

16 – 5

……………. Case 17 Burberry

These are models Naomi Campbell and Jourdan Dunn. Naomi’s lips have been adorned with a SEX, embedded amidst the natural furrows of these fleshy parts.