Maybe it’s just me, but my Dad is constantly telling me that
I have “selective hearing.” He claims that I only hear what I want to hear when
he is speaking to me about things that clearly I don’t care to hear about if he
can tell that I’m not listening. What he doesn't know is that sometimes I'm just flat out ignoring him, like when he tells me to wash the dishes while The Bachelor is on. Like hello Dad! I'll do it at the commercial!
So, what does this have to do with marketing? Well, believe
it or not my Dad is right, I really do have selective hearing, and so do you.
In the world of marketing, consumers hear and see in advertisements only what
they want to. Do you find yourself tuning into commercials on T.V. of things
you want or services you would like to try? Obviously we don’t watch every commercial
that is played, that’s what the remote is for, changing the channel during the
commercials we don’t find so interesting. The ones we’re interested in, though,
we pay close attention to in order to learn about this product or service that
we want. Every human has different tastes, different wants, and different
personalities and therefore we selectively pay attention only to the ones we
really want to.
There are three general kinds of selective perception, or
the way which we choose, organize, and interpret the information thrown at us
in our everyday lives. First, we have selective exposure, when we pay attention
to advertisement that goes along with our attitudes and beliefs and ignore the
ones which don’t, kind of like how I “choose” to ignore my Dad when he’s
blabbing in my ear about the fact that I turned up the A.C. in my house again because I was sweating bullets!
Not my fault. Next, we have selective comprehension, which is when we interpret
the advertisement we see so that it does fit along with our attitudes and
beliefs. The third is selective retention which just means that we as consumers
don’t remember every single advertisement we see and hear, because for a lot of
them they just don’t apply to our lives or attitudes. Marketers know this and
know that not every consumer is going to watch the commercial that they slaved
over. But, the point is that those who are
interested and will give it their
full attention will remember it and
hopefully purchase the product or service.
By far, though, the most insane and intriguing form of advertisement
in my opinion is subliminal advertising. I bet that you have noticed in movies
how sometimes actors use specific products, like Channing Tatum might drink a
coke in a movie or Gerard Butler (with that sexy Irish accent mind you) might
be driving an Audi. These are examples of subliminal advertising, when we see
or hear messages without being aware of them. It triggers a reaction in our
mind that maybe we’re thirsty and want a coke, or wow that Audi is fast, I kind
of want to drive one. These minor messages influence our behaviors without us
even being aware. For example, the Tostitos logo has the image of two stick figures dancing and dipping a chip into salsa. Ever noticed that before?
However, there are many controversial subliminal messages, as
well. There are many that have hidden images such as the word “sex” in the
picture somewhere and although our brain may see it, it doesn’t register with
us. But, sex sells in marketing and therefore it stimulates the reaction in our
brains that we want whatever is being sold. Is this ethical? That is the
question of the day. But, it is pretty cool. Below are examples of subliminal
advertising that will blow your mind. See if you can spot them!
