SOFT SOAP
SIR,—At a time when the prospect of diverting an appreciable quantity of this country's imports from the United States to the United Kingdom is receiving considerable, if cautious, attention it is distressing to one, who, as a recent immigrant, has deep interest in the development of further commercial links be- tween Britain and Canada, to find, in your issue of February 7, writers, who are presumably regarded by many as being well informed, displaying ignorance of commercial practices which are probably a great deal better understood on this side of the Atlantic, but which should be carefully studied by British manufacturers considering entry into this market.
I refer to Pharos's derisive dismissal of subliminal advertising and Leslie Adrian's sweeping condemna- tion of 'tiresome fourpenny offers.'
It is true that the initial panic, the fears of 'brain- washing,' the suggestions of unscrupulous political use and other undesirable consequences attributed to subliminal advertising have been shown to bb un- founded. However, had Pharos attended, as I and a large number of other advertising men did recently, a demonstration of this medium, he would have been aware that while even those exploiting the device claim that it is no more than a very weak form of publicity, effective only when opportunities to pur- chase or use the product advertised are immediately available, they have considerable evidence that this form of advertising, employed under certain condi- tions, can have a very appreciable influence on sales.
To Leslie Adrian I would say two things. Firstly, why pick on one relatively minor aspect of mer- chandising as being objectionable? Why not equally complain of all the nasty advertisements which clutter the pages of our newspapers and periodicals (and, incidentally, enable us to have them ,at a reasonable price)? Secondly, why beat one's head against a brick wall? A knowledge of North American marketing methods and of the high degree to which British trade is following them leads one to the belief not only that reduced-price offers are inevitable, but that they are valued by the manufacturer, accepted by the trade and appreciated by the vast majority of con- sumers.—Yours faithfully,
Canada
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