Regarding the Efficacy of Subliminal Advertising(A Personal Anecdote Concerning King Kong)

A few months ago, shortly before King Kong was released, I caught a trailer about the "making of" Peter Jackson's Kong in the pre-previews for another film (in other words, the commercials before the previews before a movie). I was sitting next to two ladies who were talking amongst themselves when one said to the other, "Has Peter Jackson done anything since The Lord of the Rings? I haven't heard a thing about him."

The "Making of King Kong" had been playing at least a couple of minutes before this question was asked. The other answered that she "hadn't heard of anything, either" and wondered if he was "out of ideas." The "Making of" continued on throughout their conversation. It wasn't until an actual preview of King Kong played several minutes later that one of them said "Well I guess that answers our question."

I was quite amused to realize the one thing they didn't: that their subconscious likely picked up that Peter Jackson was repeatedly being mentioned during that "Making Of" commercial, but they were too busy talking to consciously "hear" it. And yet, this subconscious detection made its way into their conversation.

I developed an uncanny appreciation for — and fearful suspicion of — hypnotists and subliminal advertisements that day.