Four A's for Effort

Here we have a reproduction of an ad produced by theAmerican Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) in the 1980's. It is possibly the most cynical and manipulative ad in professional advertising history. On the other hand it may simply be an in joke for members of the advertising profession. Read on and then judge which explanation seems most appropriate.

The ad contains two principal semi-subliminal figures.  Each figure is quite substantial in size and presumably intended to trigger negative emotional moods.  Both faces can be seen in the thumbnail. But, if you are in doubt about what these look like, click on the image to see a larger version of this ad.

If you haven't recognized the rather bleary-eyed 'face', slightly reminiscent of Frankenstein, and a smaller face depicting a 'drowning' woman, take note of the following. First, consider the cherry as a bulbous nose on a face tilted slightly downwards and looking towards the right. Above the nose you should find two, rather bleary, eyes. The top of the ice cube provides a rather flat forehead. Recognizing these features should help you 'recognize' one of the faces. 

Next, look next at the stalk of the cherry. Consider this as the back of a woman's head.  The cherry is lying on her left cheek just above the mouth. Her eyes are further to the left and she is facing downwards (or upwards, depending upon how you perceive the figure).  Her rather 'squared' mouth is agape.

The Frankenstein face simply seems rather sorrowful and 'hung-over' but the poor woman is quite clearly 'drowning' (her sorrows?) in her drink.

The emotions that are triggered by these two images may in fact be concern and pity rather than the fear, anxiety and disgust triggered by the repulsive and horrific content of many spirits ads.   There are some additional unpleasant faces depicted in this AAAA ad: some are human, some are ghostly.   However, there do not seem to be any of the extremely grotesque and horrific images often be found in spirits ads.  

This difference in emphasis on the grotesque and horrific between the AAAA ad and genuine spirits ads suggests there was a somewhat different 'hand' at work from those that produce spirits ads. Despite the fact that the ad displays considerable skill in the use of semi-subliminal embedded elements whoever created it refrained from presenting the full panoply of grotesque images relatively common in spirits ads.    In effect, the technique is that of the alcohol ad manipulator but the content of the ad is more subdued and less emotive than expected. This could be because the ad is not associated with any particular product or company.   However, the ad could simply be a notable example of an artist demonstrating his/her artistic skill - and the incompetence of his/her employer at detecting embedded imagery.   This may suggest an explanation that would let the AAAA 'off the hook' regarding venality* but would raise questions about their competence and adherence to reasonable ethical standards at the time the ads were produced.    

This ad was only one of at least three ads in a campaign by the AAAA tocounter criticisms that advertising agencies were using 'subliminal' advertising* to influence consumers.  Scrutiny of the others in the series (see below) might shed additional light on whether the AAAA intentionally commissioned 'subliminal' advertising.

Questions and some answers

As the various other Web Pages on this site clearly demonstrate, ad agencies have used semi-subliminal imagery in ads for many years and continue to do so. For some more early examples, see the Seagram's ads below. For more recent examples, see the Adsmonth page.

But one should note that no distinctions have ever been drawn by the advertising profession between subliminal advertising and semi-subliminal advertising.  Both phenomena have always been considered under the rubric of subliminal advertising. And the use of subliminal advertising is a technique that the ad profession and others continue to vociferously deny. Furthermore, they tend to state, that if it does exist it is not effective. (How they know it is not effective if it doesn't exist is something that any astute reader ought to find rather perplexing.)

From A to Z

If the ad illustrated above had been intentionally produced by the AAAA to influence consumers it would be indicative of a cynical and callous disregard for the consumer.  It would also be judged highly reprehensible and unethical for a professional association to produce such an ad. Moreover, if they were attempting to gull the public into believing that semi-subliminal advertising techniques did not exist - and there were no dissenting voices from within the profession - one is left to wonder about the integrity of members of the advertising profession.    Your views on this matter would be welcomed.

But, as noted, the nature of the faces evident in this AAAA ad raises questions about the intentions of those who produced it.  The faces in the ad are not noticeably distressing when compared with the type of imagery discussed by Wilson Key in his books or noted in other spirits ads illustrated elsewhere in this Web Site.  This 'deficiency' may have arisen because the ad was not intent on inducing a mood conducive to the consumption of a specific product.   The alternative interpretation may be that it was simply an artist having 'some fun' whilst producing a rather run of the mill ad.  There is some evidence to support the latter interpretation in another ad in the same series featuring a curious example of an attractive young woman shaving.

In the ad in question, the woman's jaw and cheeks are covered in shaving lather.  As with the ad above, this second ad also contained a standard example of semi-subliminal imagery. The letters s e x are embedded in the shaving soap on her chin and overlapping with her neck but they are so faint they do not stand out on the screen.   But, as with the 'drink's ad above, this ad is open to an alternative interpretation.   It could also have been part of a complex, professional 'in joke'. 

The reasoning behind this interpretation once again draws upon more obvious features in the ad.   Impressed in the lather on the woman's right cheek are two 'streaks'.  These could have occurred if she had drawn her fingers through the lather.   However, the streaks are not perfectly aligned, as would be the case if two fingers were drawn through the lather at the same time.  The resulting 'impression' can therefore be interpreted as offering a 'two fingered salute'.

Whether the 'salute' is offered to all of the naive members of the public who viewed the ad or was simply addressed to those who commissioned the ad cannot be determined. If it were the latter this would be a very private joke indeed.

A third, rather unlikely, possibility is that all the ads in the series were conceived with manipulative intent.  But, additionally, they were produced by an extremely sophisticated and defensive individual. An individual who had the perspicacity to 'recognize' there were a number of interpretations that could be applied to each ad.   This offered the possibility of a 'fall back' position if the semi-subliminal contents of the ad were brought to public attention by an astute viewer. The ad agency and the personnel involved could then defend themselves Using this 'fall back' position . Responsibility could be denied on the  grounds that the ads were simply  a professional 'in-joke', admittedly a joke that was in very poor taste, but a joke nevertheless. 

AAAA Conclusions

Readers, you can help decide the outcome of the author's debate regarding the AAAA ads.   As noted above, there were others ads in the same series.   If any viewer could supply the author with copies of these, electronic or printed (he already has a copy of the armchair ad), further analysis might make it possible to determine whether the ads had manipulative intent or whether they were simply an 'in-joke' for self indulgent members of the advertising profession.

But, note this. Whatever the initial status of these ads, it is remarkable that no-one has commented on them in print.  Although the layperson is unlikely to possess the degree of expertise and interest necessary to identify the semi-subliminal elements in ads, it is still surprising that no artist or member of the advertising profession has acknowledged their existence.  This is a sad reflection upon the advertising profession and those associated with it.

The ads have even appeared in a number of textbooks on advertising and consumer behaviour - usually as illustrations accompanying a statement to the effect that subliminal advertising was nonsense. Again, no-one has noticed or commented on the ads, except regarding the overt contents.  See the Expert Page.

Additionally, if you think semi-subliminal or 'subliminal' advertising is a historical phenomenon then think again. If you don't look at any other pages, have a look at the Ads of the Month page. This offers examples from October 1998 to June 2000. Semi-subliminal advertising is alive and well. This is rather unfortunate if these have the potential to influence people without their awareness.

Seagram's Follies?

At around the same period that the AAAA was producing their ads, Seagram's also produced a couple of interesting ads.  These again demonstrated the ability of advertising artists to 'pull the wool' over the eyes of the viewing public.

Ilustrated here are the two ads, both of which, with the application of a little bit of imagination, can be shown to depict meaningful facial features.   True they are not human but then the function of semi-subliminal advertising is to present information in a disguised manner and trigger emotions and influence the formation of ideas.  Their function is not to depict reality accurately, nor for the figures to be consciously recognized and appraised.

Look carefully at the thumbnail on the left .   Each glass 'contains' a depiction of a 'sheepish, cheerful' and 'sozzled' alien.    Each 'face' has the eye to the left open (the cherry) and the eye on the right closed or closing (winking?) and a wryly aligned mouth.

There is some slight variation in their 'noses'. The figure on the left has a 'button' nose and that on the right a slightly more noticeable protrusion.  

In some respects, there is nothing really anomalous about these images.  The 'cheerfully sozzled alien' figures fit neatly into the message conveyed by the ad and provide semi-subliminal reinforcement* for the caption at the head of the ad.  The caption is, of course, 'Refreshing Seagram's Gin has hidden pleasure'.   The pleasure to be gained from Seagram's, if Seagram's shareholders are to make a considerable profit, will require that a considerable proportion of Seagram's Gin do get sozzled. 

When one looks at a larger version of the ad, or the original, presumably full page ad, such images are unlikely to be recognized  They 'disappear' as attention is focused upon various other elements within the ad.   Additionally, the caption helps 'direct' conscious attention towards other activities and thus 'deflect' attention away from the embedded artwork.    

The second Seagram's ad also has two faces embedded within the artwork.  The larger of the two is, in fact, only the lower half of a face as the upper half 'dissolves' into a spray of bubbles.  

The most notable features of this 'face' are the 'chin' and the rather full lower 'lip'.  In the thumbnail the chin is formed by the lower edge of the ice cube, whereas the lips are formed by the upper portion of the same cube.  The left hand cheek of the figure is dark and the left hand side is formed around a 'depression' where the pattern on the glass is partially shaded.  Note that the left hand side of the ice cube is incomplete, rather than partially obscured by bubbles.      If one wished to decide on the emotion associated with this face one would be forced to acknowledge that there is no obvious 'feel' to this ad.  Feeling, in other words, is seemingly absent.   However, this is not the case.

There is a second 'face' in this ad and this can be discerned towards the bottom right of centre.  This is a rather agonized cube shaped face, formed from the incomplete ice cube.    This agonized face is facing towards the right and bears some resemblance to a Mummy or the Invisible Man, complete with bandages.  The characteristics of the 'faces' in this ad strongly reflect the 'traditional' use of semi-subliminal imagery in spirits ads and an intention to stir negative emotions in viewers.  

The ad bears a similar caption to the first Seagram's ad noted above and other distracting features but in this case there is no mention of hidden pleasure.  Instead the ad captures the distressing side of excessive alcohol consumption and the tragedy of those who consume alcohol to help cope with psychological pain, distress and anxiety.   It also reflects back to heavy drinkers the fears and anxieties that bedevil them. The ads thus attempt to 'force' them into a mood where they might begin further excessive drinking.

These ads are thus examples of a reprehensible practice that attempts to engender negative moods that dependent drinkers try to control through the ue of alcohol.

If you are not yet convinced click on this third Seagram ad. It shares some of the same characteristics as the 'alien' ad. On this occasion the pair of 'faces' are only roughly delineated and rather than being 'sozzled' appear very much the worse for wear. One could even justify stating that 'they' appeared to have been involved in a (drink related) accident. Additionally, even although this image came from a small reproduction of the original ad, you may note that many smaller images are embedded in it. For example, the head of a dog facing to the right is pretty obvious in the centre of the right hand glass and faces and other small images are also noticeable: each attempting to subvert the conscious actions of consumers. Other Seagram's ads of a similar nature are discussed in the book Design Writing Research: Writing on Graphic Design by Ellen Lupton and Abbot Miller. The book also includes an entire chapter on what Lupton and Miller call meta-subliminal ads i.e. ads that are not quite subliminal but make use of a tongue in cheek self reflexivity to to poke fun at Wilson Bryan Key's critiques. As indicated below and elsewhere, in the process they often deflect attention from the 'true' embedded message.

These Seagram's ads gull the consumer by seemingly only having overt content, when in fact they contain the same kind of elements other Seagram's ads decry or poke fun at. Another couple of Seagram ads are illustrated in miniature alongside. (If you have a full size original the author would be interested in viewing them.)

In addition to deceiving the consumer such ads try to initiate drinking in susceptible and alcohol dependent individuals.   It may not only be lay members of the public who are conned. The Seagram's ads also seemingly gulled Jack Haberstroh, a psychological consultant to Seagram's and author of the misleading book Ice Cube Sex: The Truth about Subliminal Advertising.  Haberstoh claims that no such phenomenon exist.

For a critical review of Haberstroh's book by the author look it up on the Amazon.com web site (Check. As of Feb, 2001 this review was no longer available as Haberstroh's book was out of print). One can summarize the review by paraphrasing a well known phrase from Star Trek, the classic sci-fi series. 'It's Truth, Jim. But not as we know it!'

The frontiers of perception thus require you to go where few have gone before. For recent spirits ads using essentially the same techniques as the Seagram's ads beam your way to the Jim Beam, Disaronno and Jack Daniel's ads on this site (various pages, including Ads of the Month). Your Enterprise will be rewarded. (Sorry,guys'n'gals, especially if you are Star Trek trekkies. You can tell I was beginning to get carried away with word play).

More Ads from the Archives. Click here for Wilson Key. Click here for Colonel Gadaffi.