Why did I buy that?

Kristine Delano June 2021 Blog

Can advertisers really use subliminal messaging to control our behaviors? What about those flashing messages within videos used to manipulate us?

I recently wrote a short story for a competition that had to include a paranormal element. I’m not so much into creepy phantoms and evil sorcery. So, I started lightly researching phenomenon that could be perceived as paranormal for my short story. In that exploration, I hit on the concept of subliminal messaging (we can’t see or hear it, even if we are looking for it). Hysteria started because James Vicary, in the 1950s, claimed to boost concession sales at a movie theater by flashing “Eat Popcorn” and “Drink Coke” during a movie. But his claim was a hoax. ..