“Alive With Pleasure” The Not Entirely Subliminal Advertising Campaign for Newport Cigarettes

The word “liminal” is an actual, honest-to-goodness word that few people use. Oxforddictionaries.com defines it as “occupying a position at, or on both sides of, a boundary or threshold.” For the purposes of this article, that “threshold” is the crossing point where the brain identifies something as being apparent. Apparent things are liminal. That’s a banana rotting in my fruit bowl. There’s a hole in my sock. Those kids are on my lawn again. Conversely there’s a word that many people do use, “subliminal,” which is defined by the same dictionary as “(of a stimulus or mental process) below the threshold of sensation or consciousness” In other words, things that are there but are not apparent to the brain. Things that haven’t crossed the threshold. In this context, the word “subliminal” is most associated with advertising, hence “subliminal advertising.”

Here’s an example.

Are you thirsty? Would you like a cold gin and tonic? No? Take a look at this.

How about now? Are you suddenly craving a gin and tonic? Probably not, but if you are, you’re either a person who loves gin or a person who really loves gin. Or you may have only one thing on your mind, because this is what you really saw without realizing it.

If you suddenly wanted that gin and tonic, don’t beat yourself up. It’s called subliminal advertising. Madison Ave has been doing it for years. Many studies have been conducted about it, but no study has been able to conclusively prove that it works. However that doesn’t stop advertisers from using it.

Which brings us to Newport cigarettes. Unlike alcohol companies, Newport couldn’t discretely hide their sexual messages inside ice cubes and liquor bottles. They had to be a bit more obvious. Here’s an advertisement of theirs from the 1960s.

Do you see it? If you do, this article will be far more entertaining. If not, let me explain. Crossing the threshold here isn’t too difficult. There’s the cigarette (a reliable phallic symbol) and there are the white drops on the happy model’s cheek. Now are you aware and dirty-minded enough to see it? If so, you’re prepared to go further.

In the late 1970s, Newport began their “Alive With Pleasure!” campaign which trod a thin line between “subliminal” and “Oh, that’s just sex.” Usually the ads suggested fairly innocuous sexual situations, like these.

“Can I play with your trombone?”

“Taste this.”

“Look what I caught!”

You get the idea. Now see if you can spot the message in these two ads by yourself. It shouldn’t be hard.

I mean “difficult.”

Then there were the times when, despite their surroundings, the people in the ad were just plain having sex.

But Newport didn’t stop at run-of-the-mill sexuality. They got kinky. Nothing strange happening here, right?

Or here.

The happy woman with the obscene canteen.

And they didn’t just stick with couples. Why would they? Open wide, folks. The blond guy on the left is definitely “fry-curious.” His blond friend on the right can’t believe he actually went there. The women are just diving in.

I’m not entirely sure there isn’t a fifth person in here somewhere. One thing’s for sure, they’re all having a LOT of fun.

“Have you got a problem with my bat?”

Ashley Madison customers.

“Is this seat taken?”

That last ad brings up another strange subliminal technique used by Newport. Turning people upside down or having them kneeling on the ground, essentially bringing faces closer to crotches. To wit:

She went to the danger zone.

Who’s ready for some diving?

Newport cast its net wide. I get the feeling that the guy in this ad is far more interested in the kite than he is in the girl. Even the Surgeon General is warning him away from the goods.

Now it gets dark. There are disturbing things in our subconscious that only advertisers know about. Take a look at this:

What’s happening here? It’s obviously a giant, grinning pumpkin-headed monster having his way with a young woman. Is she happy about it? You tell me. Is her friend trying to save her or does she want in on the “fun?” You be the judge. The central question is, “Do you want a cigarette now?”

Darker than pumpkin-headed monster rape scenarios is a form of subliminal advertising that appeals to what psychiatrists describe as the smoker’s “death wish.” It suggests that, if you’re a smoker, you know it’s bad for you but subconsciously you don’t care. “Screw you, Death. I’m smoking. Come get me.” Here’s a perfect example.

Who the hell is that in the middle? The women love him, but he’s somewhat shrouded. Shrouded like…oh, I don’t know.

It’s “Death,” of course, embraced by the “alive with pleasure” smokers who don’t fear him. Hell, they love him. Here he is again. Don’t let go!

Less threatening but still mysterious. Is that Jeff Daniels?

Speaking of death wishes, here’s a particularly interesting Newport ad. I’ll ask again, what’s happening here? You might say that the hammock is about to tip over and they’re all laughing. But look again.

Imagine for a moment that the hammock wasn’t inches off the ground, but swung across a giant chasm (perhaps the “cancer chasm.”) Look at their expressions. They know they’re about to die and are screaming in terror. The woman in pink has desperately anchored herself to the guy by sticking her leg up his shirt (although that could be some subliminal foot fetish thing Newport stuck in.)

Darker than death is murder. In looking over these ads, there are a surprising number that suggest a macabre murder scene. In this case, there’s a drowned man in the pool and his murderers are posing for pictures with the upside down corpse.

Am I reading too much into it? Of course I am. But there’s no doubt something weird is happening in this next ad.

“My friends helped me kill my wife on a camping trip. In this picture, we are burning her body as I hold her decapitated head in my hand.

“Near my crotch, naturally.”

“I finally got up the nerve to kill her!”

She’s dead. No doubt about it. Look at her eyes. Plus she’s the only one in red. Now they only need prepare her body for processing.

Maybe I’ve been looking at these ads too long. Eventually, everything becomes obscene. I close with some Newport ads that are truly disgusting. The trouble is I can’t quite figure out why.