Subliminal messages

There is a certain degree to which advertisements effect consumers subliminally.  It is impossible to deny that advertisements try to sway your mind in favor of the brand, with words like New! Fun! Yummy! etc. They used eye-catching photos with bright colours to get our attention. All of this is used to stimulate activity in our brain. Advertisements are made to evoke an emotion or reaction, for example this Christmas ad for Coca Cola

The image of Santa Claus holding bottles of coke and the magical sparkles surrounding the logo and truck, these things are all there to create a feeling of happiness, like it states in the headline. The main purpose of this ad is to make you feel like in order for you to share happiness with your loved ones this christmas, you better give them some Coca Cola. The subliminal "messages" in this ad will prove very successful for people who enjoy Coke, but this is about as deep as I feel those messages go.

For people who are not loyal to a brand, keeping with my example of Coca Cola, these ads will not successfully get them in the store buying the product. If some one just simply does not drink soda, specifically Coke, a nice whimsy picture of Santa Claus is not going to have much effect on them. 

Subliminally it may still evoke the same emotion of happiness and that general Christmas spirit, it's not going to make the, change their opinion on the product. 

Humour in Advertising.

I feel as though humour is a strong tool in advertisement. Using humour puts a good memory of the brand in the consumer/readers brain. When they think of that ad, they will remember that it made them laugh, and therefore have a positive experience attached mentally to that brand. Personally when I see a brand take that risk and straddle the line of being inappropriate with their humour, it peaks my interest in a positive way. They are willing to take risks which, to me, shows a confidence in their brand. There is in fact a possible downfall to using humour when the "joke" is just simply not funny, there's nothing worse then when a joke fails and gives you that face-palm moment. It makes the brand look somewhat sad and pathetic. If you're going to go with funny, you better make damn sure it's actually funny. I feel as though people who can't take these advertisements lightly are indeed sourpusses. Life should not always be suit and tie serious. Sometimes, in the world we live in a little laugh can be our saving grace.