Subliminal Advertising: The Secret Sales Pitch

The Secret Sales Pitch contains lots of suggested projects and experiments for students and researchers at all levels.

The one at the left is quite fascinating.

In the top picture threatening wolves are embedded in the rocks. It takes most people about 10 seconds to consciously become aware of them.

The bottom picture is neutral; no images are embedded in the rocks.

Show the top picture and the bottom picture to two different groups of people for 3 to 5 seconds. Ask them what they saw (to confirm they are not aware of the wolves.) Then ask them to complete the following sentence:

"Bunny is running down the road because___________"

In preliminary tests, more people exposed to the embedded wolf picture suggest a "danger" explanation - "because he is being chased," etc. whereas people exposed to the neutral image are more likely to propose a non threatening interpretation such as "to get to where he is going, because he is late for dinner," etc.

If you send me an e-mail I will send you a pdf file with correctly sized high resolution copies of the pictures for free so you can experiment for yourself. Please be sure to let me know what your results are!

Both pictures © August Bullock 2005. All Rights Reserved.

"In The Secret Sales Pitch author August Bullock presents a strong case not only for the existence of subliminal influences in marketing but also for their effectiveness." - Reviewer's Bookwatch.

"Weirdly addictive" - East Bay Express.

"..we were awarded first place in our school, and my group is going to a state wide competition with our project. We used your book as one of the main sources and I wanted to thank you." (High School student)

"… I'm a student studying Graphic Design..I am in my final degree year... I would like to congratulate you on "The Secret Sales Pitch." It was a very enjoyable read and in turn, immensely valuable for my studies." (University student)

"I am using it as an indispensable resource in my eighth grade science project on the effects of subliminal materials. It is an extremely enjoyable book, with a number of easy to understand examples and a free-and-easy, insightful, and witty manner of speech. Thank you so much!...By the way, my project was the only one at my school to receive full points, where it moved on to the county science fair!"

"I...was delighted to see how you updated the research on subliminal advertising. Your examples were quite revealing and perceptive." (College Professor)

"….By revealing the psychology involved in contemporary marketing strategies and tactics, Bullock has produced a kind of instructional manual which will prove to be a superbly presented introduction into subliminal message and image oriented advertising. ." -Midwest Book Review.