Wilson Bryan Key

Wilson Bryan Key, Ph.D. (January 31, 1925 - October 8, 2008) was the author of several books about subliminal advertising and subliminal messages. Controversial from the start, the books were widely read, particularly at universities, where he would often lecture. He obtained his doctorate in communications from the University of Denver and taught journalism for a short period of time at the University of Western Ontario. He was a colleague and friend of Marshall McLuhan. His results and conclusions have been challenged; see, for example (Pratkanis 1992), (Moore 1992), (Boese 2006, p. 194).

Key died following complications resulting from surgery. He is interred at the Northern Nevada Veteran's Memorial Cemetery in Fernley, Nevada. He is survived by his wife and three daughters.

In a 1990 a Reno, Nevada court case against Judas Priest regarding subliminal messages and a suicide pact between two young men gained international attention. Key was a witness in this case; however, the case was dismissed against Judas Priest and their record company, CBS.

Key was also a member of MENSA.

Bibliography

• Subliminal Seduction: Are You Being Sexually Aroused By This Picture? aka "Ad Media's Manipulation of a Not So Innocent America." (1973). Introduction by Marshall McLuhan. Prentice-Hall, Inc. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 73-5421.
• Media Sexploitation (1976). Prentice-Hall, Inc.
• The Clam-Plate Orgy: And Other Subliminals the Media Use to Manipulate Your Behavior (1980). Signet. Reissued in 1992 as Subliminal Ad-Ventures in Erotic Art by Branden Books.
• The Age of Manipulation: The Con in Confidence, The Sin in Sincere (1989). H. Holt.

See Also

• Programming The Nation? The Film

References

• Boese, Alex (2006). Hippo Eats Dwarf: A Field Guide to Hoaxes and Other B.S.. Harcourt, Inc.. ISBN 0-15-603083-7. 
• Moore, Timothy E. (Spring 1992). "Subliminal Perception: Facts and Fallacies". Skeptical Inquirer 16 (3): 273–81.  Reprinted in Encounters with the Paranormal: Science, Knowledge, and Belief, edited by Kendrick Frazier, Prometheus Books, 1998, 253-63. ISBN 1-57392-203-X
• Pratkanis, Anthony R. (Spring 1992). "Myths of Subliminal Persuasion: The Cargo-cult Science of Subliminal Persuasion". Skeptical Inquirer 16 (3): 260–72.  Reprinted in Encounters with the Paranormal: Science, Knowledge, and Belief, edited by Kendrick Frazier, Prometheus Books, 1998, 240-52. ISBN 1-57392-203-X

External links

• The Straight Dope: "Are subliminal messages secretly embedded in advertisements?" (1987)
• Wilson Bryan Key's words? Or Joan Peyser's?
• Interview with Wilson Bryan Key. Source Material for Brainwash: The Secret History of Mind Control. D.Streatfeild. ISBN 0340831618