Non-specific effects of subliminal advertising

In this study, we hypothesize that subliminal images have nonspecific effec ts on consumer behavior. In the fat experiment, subjects exposed to a subli minal image of a Coca-Cola product and later actually offered Coca-Cola or Orangina did not choose Coca-Cola more often. Similarly, subjects exposed t o an Orangina product did not choose to drink Orangina more often than the other subjects. However, subjects exposed to either product (Coca-Cola or O rangina) chose to consume one of these two drinks more often than subjects exposed to a neutral stimulus. The second experiment confirmed this result. These two experiments show that although subliminal images do not lead con sumers to choose a given product, they nevertheless increase consumer needs and thereby produce nonspecific behaviors. The results are interpreted in an attribution framework.