Hypnotic Techniques in Advertising

After World War II, there was a surge of research in the United States focused on manipulating consciousness, especially in the field of advertising. Hypnotic approaches in advertising widely utilized the results of these studies. The first conclusions drawn from postwar research on consumer behavior were as follows:

1. People tend to make impulsive purchases. Studies showed that over 90% of purchases are made impulsively, even when it comes to expensive items.
2. Advertising does not change a person’s beliefs about their preferred product, but if that product is suddenly unavailable, the buyer will choose the one currently being advertised.
3. When a person sees a product they intend to buy immediately, they freeze, stop blinking and swallowing, their breathing slows, pupils dilate, and their gaze becomes unfocused. This is a typical picture of a hypnotic trance.
4. Consumers tend to identify with characters in advertising stories or films (the phenomenon of identification). If the character is chosen appropriately, the consumer will subconsciously identify with them and, when encountering the real product, will likely behave as the advertising character does.

It’s easy to see symptoms of a hypnotic trance in consumer behavior. The natural conclusion was that advertising should provoke:

• Trance induction when seeing the product
• Impulsive purchases

Suggestion in Advertising

Suggestion is the process of influencing a person’s psyche by lowering their awareness and critical thinking when perceiving the suggested content. It does not require detailed personal analysis or evaluation. The goal of suggestion is to create certain states or motivate specific actions. The essence of suggestion is to influence a person’s feelings, and through them, their will and mind. The power of suggestion largely depends on the clarity, accessibility, and logic of the information, as well as the authority of the suggester. The effect is especially strong when the suggestion aligns with the needs and interests of the person being influenced.

Key Suggestion Techniques

1. Concreteness and imagery of key words
2. Concreteness and imagery of qualities
3. Avoiding negative particles like “no” and “not”
4. Speech dynamics
5. Impact through sound combinations

Concreteness and Imagery of Key Words

Using words with concrete meanings and easily imaginable content significantly increases the effect of suggestion. Abstract concepts, on the other hand, sharply reduce the power of suggestion.

Concreteness and Imagery of Qualities

Simply saying the word “apple” is unlikely to enrich anyone’s impression. But describing qualities—juicy, ripe, rosy, sweet, green, sour, wormy—makes a noticeable difference, even in imagined taste sensations.

Avoiding Negative Particles “No” and “Not”

The human psyche resists these particles, causing alertness and doubt. For example, it’s one thing to say in a medicine ad, “You won’t get sick!” and quite another to say, “It will heal you!”

Speech Dynamics

This is one of the most powerful means of suggestion. Key techniques include softness and strength of voice, rich intonation, pauses, fast speech tempo, and voice timbre (for advertising, a male voice, especially a low, “velvety” one, is often more effective).

Impact Through Sound Combinations

The ability to purposefully influence a person’s emotions using certain words and phrases has been known since ancient times. Some sounds can evoke not only specific emotions but also subconscious images. For example, the presence or dominance of the vowel “i” in words creates an impression of something small or insignificant. The sound “o” gives a sense of softness and relaxation, even emotional warmth. The dominance of “a” and “e” in speech is associated with emotional uplift, while the sound “y” (as in “myth”) gives an impression of something gloomy or unpleasantly mysterious. A similar feeling arises from an abundance of consonants, especially hissing sounds.