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Spam (BUY!) Goes (BUY!) Subliminal?
from the your-hidden-message-here dept
A security company is warning that spammers are kicking up the sophistication of stock spam by inserting subliminal messages to try and get people to buy the stocks they're flogging. The messages apparently look like normal spam, but quickly flash a series of images including the word "buy". Of course, there's nothing proving that subliminal messaging works, though the original article notes that a Kansas serial killer turned himself in last year after police used subliminal messages to lure him in... in 1978. Perhaps stock spammers are just looking for a new premium service to offer their corporate clients, or a way to make stock spam a better long-term investment by turning people into sleeper investors who will start buying up a stock 17 years after seeing the spam.
Reader Comments
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We're still in 1996, huh? ;)
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27
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What's come over me?
I have an overpowering urge to buy a Corvair.
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Well, At Least ...
... the original article does state that the subliminal ads are not thought to be connected with the guy turning himself in. Ah, honesty in journalism. Though, if they aren't thought to be relevant, why bother even mentioning it?
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Who knows if it works?
As the article says, there is no (Purchase Coke!) proof that subliminal advertising (Viagra helps you UP!) will make anybody ever purchase something (McDonald's Big Mac... tasty!) that they wouldn't have purchased anyway (Nike... Just do it!).
Perhaps some people (Monday Night Football... Now on ESPN!) like to watch the shiny advertisements (TiVo! Record it now to watch it later!) and may not realize that they are being targeted for (New York Times, home of the Fnords!) an advertising gimmick.
Best of all (Hillary for President!), we are getting into the season (Vote Republican! We can smear better than they can!) where the average consumer (9/11 was planned by Sadaam!) is going to be targeted (MoveOn.org... we're all that's left!) for more and more of these (Listen to Rush!) lame attempts to get attention (Vote Cheney/Bush in 2008).
I'm glad that I have a browser that blocks parenthesis...!
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Re: Who knows if it works?
That was pretty hard to read with all those ads. So distracting I don't know how they can be called subliminal.
[sarcasm]
Now its just a few more hours until I go for my Big Mac with Coke on the way home to watch the Monday Night Football game I TiVo'ed last night then get on the net to download episodes of Rush's radio show and refill my Viagra perscription.
[sarcasm]
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Branding
Branding is subliminal. It works. Now click on my Adsense links!
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Not subliminal
The ad is not subliminal
You can clearly see the BUY BUY BUY!
It is the equivilant of a store with a flashing neon sign.
Not to mention there is NO PROOF that subliminal advertising even works as most accounts of it are urban legend.
Come on techdirt.. you can do better than this.
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Uhhhh huhh...
The good thing about computers is - sometimes, lag or a busy CPU will cause latentcy - that can cause a 'pause' on a frame, of course.
Think the backlash against Sony and the rootkits was bad? harhar... I wanna see what happens to the first company that tries this.. lol
Then I can do whatever, and sue the company for it, as their subliminal messages are what caused me to rob the bank, as I felt 'obligated' to buy their product... LOL - I see it coming now...
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class action lawsuit?
Can we sue them for causing us to burst into seizures?
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class action lawsuit?
Can we sue them for causing us to burst into seizures?
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if you
If you watch it backwards it says SATAN wants you to kill your dog
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Re: if you
It cannot possibly say Satan wants to kill your dog, because I just watched it backwards and killed my neighbors dog, oh, shit!
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Regarding the killer...
It says his subsequent ARREST was thought to be unrelated - according to this article, he didn't even turn himself in. I love it.
Oh, and 'failing to work' isn't the same as 'urban legend.'
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Finally!
I've been getting it for months and I actually thought I had such a repore with this recurring spam that I had to ask a couple of my friends if they were sending it to me as a joke.
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It was a rip off!
Take a look at JGC's comments - those loosers ripped off his story.
http://www.jgc.org/blog/2006/09/did-softscan-sophos-and-panda-rip-off.html
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