In 1957, a market researcher and social physiologist by the name of James Vicary coined the term “subliminal advertising” in the context of his now-infamous popcorn experiment. In that experiment, which was supposedly conducted on 45,699 moviegoers attending a film called Picnic, Vicary played 0.03-millisecond flashes of phrases like “Hungry? Eat Popcorn!” or “Drink Coca-Cola” on screen during the film. Vicary declared success, claiming that these subtle cues resulted in an 18.1-percent increase in Coca-Cola sales and a 57.5-percent increase in popcorn sales.

This experiment was later debunked, with one core argument against its findings involving the speed at which the mind can process text in comparison with visuals. Critics argued that the experiment would be more believable if pictures of popcorn and Coca-Cola had been used instead of text. Since the subconscious mind cannot process text-based information nearly as fast as it can visual cues, researchers could not substantiate Vicary's claims.

Regardless of these problems with the popcorn experiment, a widespread interest in the potential of subliminal advertising took hold. Shortly after Vicary published his findings, a report titled “The Operational Potential of Subliminal Perception” outlined the Central Intelligence Agency's own research plans for subliminal messaging. By 1974, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had banned the use of subliminal advertising in all television and radio broadcasting, noting that it was “contrary to public interest.”

But brands still found a way to prevail. Rather than taking the approach outlined in the popcorn experiment, brands opted to use product placements to deliver subconscious visual cues that would grow loyalty and sales. When Elliot lured ET into his house using a trail of Reese's Pieces, Hershey's saw a 65-percent increase in profits! Director Steven Spielberg's first choice for the movie was to use M&M's, but the candy's manufacturer, Mars, turned him down.

Clearly, small visual cues have a very large impact. When it comes to visual communication, the smallest design choices you make can sometimes be more important than the elements that take up the majority of your content.

If we were not so susceptible to small visual cues driving our actions, this practice of product placement would not be experiencing the rapid growth it is today. But thanks to the wide variety of visual entertainment available to us—including video games, digital streaming, television, print, cinema, and more—this market is experiencing its best years ever. Data and analysis leaders PQ Media projected that US product placement revenues would exceed $10 billion in 2018, with brands such as Netflix contributing to the industry's continued success.

TWITTER'S INFAMOUS STAR-VERSUS-HEART WAR OF 2015

Near the end of October 2015, a subtle change to one of Twitter's buttons sent its users into an uproar. The small star button that appeared at the bottom of every post was replaced with a heart. It's important to note that the functionality of the button didn't change, just the icon used for the button itself.

The original purpose of the button was simply to bookmark tweets so that they could be referenced later for any number of reasons. Twitter had chosen not to use a bookmark icon and instead used a star shape when first introducing this functionality. Had a bookmark icon been used, it's possible they could have avoided what happened next.

A star—an image that was up for interpretation depending on the context—meant that user actions could expand beyond simply saving a tweet to reference later. Instead, the button became a tool used to fuel heavy debate within the platform. Users treated the star button as a kind of virtual microphone drop. When they found themselves in an argument with another Twitter user, it became common practice for a user to click on the star button as a signal that they were done with the exchange and had had the last word.

Twitter realized that the subconscious response to the star was the problem. To combat the negativity that sometimes coincided with the star, Twitter chose to change the button's icon, and nothing else.

Twitter had shifted an image that made up less than 1 percent of its site design, but users reacted viscerally. This seemingly small visual shift resulted in a broad outcry among those who felt wholly disrupted by the change (Figure 5.2). That's because heart and a star convey two very different meanings. A star can suggest any variety of meanings, whereas a heart is the near-universal symbol for love. Put into the context of a social network like Twitter, the heart implies condoning a message, liking something, or even liking the messenger.

Suddenly, Twitter users could no longer interact with the bookmark tool in the same way. One simple symbol of love was enough to infuriate an entire user base and completely change how they interacted with the tool. Think about it: if you were in a heated argument, would you end it with a heart icon?

EXERCISE: EMBRACING UNIVERSAL IMAGERY

Twitter's star-versus-heart debacle of 2015 offers a great example of how seemingly small visual cues can make a huge impact on the actions of any audience. In the world of visual communication, small visual cues such as universal iconography are important tools for conveying meaning and driving action.

A recycling sign, for example, lets us know how to partition our garbage without a lengthy explanation. Stop lights tell us when to stop, go, or slow down. Visual cues drive many of our actions in daily life, and can share important information.

To put this to the test, look at the icons in Figure 5.3. On a piece of paper, write down one to three words or phrases that you associate with each icon. When you're done, turn to Figure 5.4 to see if you wrote down words or phrases similar to the icon labels provided. You will likely find that the majority of what you wrote matches the expected conclusions on the following page.

Now take this exercise a step further by visiting TheNounProject.com. By offering “the most diverse collection of icons ever,” Noun Project is building a global visual language. Creatives from all over the world submit custom-designed icons to bring meaning to singular words or phrases.

When you visit the site, type a noun or short phrase into the search bar and see the collection of icons that display as a result. You'll quickly find that there are universal symbols for a wide array of words, all of which can be used as inspiration for your own content.