The venue was a small movie theatre in New Jersey. The orchestrator was James Vicary. The subjects were unknowing movie goers. The experiment was 0.03 second subliminal messages and the claims were outrageous!

James Vicary claimed that by flashing subliminal messages to the movie audience instructing them to purchase coca cola and popcorn that the sales of these products were significantly increased.

The study was highly controversial and although many tried they were never able to replicate the findings of Vicary. However, a government ban of subliminal messages soon followed due to a campaign led by William Dawson and backed by the general public!

Vicary admitted in 1957 that his findings had been fabricated but the phenomenon of subliminal messages still lives on. Why is this?

Well there is evidence to suggest that in 1957 some scientists working for an extremely powerful agency were using subliminal messages in their own experiments!

While the battle raged over the effectiveness of
subliminal messages the CIA were quietly conducting their own research into the phenomenon!

As is probably obvious to you, the CIA wanted to learn whether or not they could use subliminal messages as a form of manipulation. In reports that have been declassified and released under the Freedom of Information Act we can read just how involved in this pursuit they were.

The CIA report, "The Operational Potential of Subliminal Perception", written in 1958 highlights some of their findings. In a 1980 article for High Times magazine Martin Lee states that a former CIA agent revealed that the agency committed themselves to discovering the effectiveness of subliminal messages in the manipulation of political outcomes!

The declassified CIA journal has a disconcerting entry where it is stated that it might be possible for the word "Obey" to be used in their subliminal programs.

Although we have no way of knowing whether the CIA ever stopped their investigations into subliminal messages we do know that it is prevalent in advertising. It is also used frequently in self improvement fields as a tool for self change. Subliminal messages are used in a variety of personal development products.


For further information on subliminal messages and their effectiveness check out the resources below.

Subliminal - award winning subliminal products.

Subliminal Messages messaging products tested & reviewed.