Pyramid Power in Advertising

"Cursed be those who disturb the rest of a Pharaoh. They that shall break the seal of this tomb shall meet death by a disease that no doctor can diagnose.”

- Egyptian Tomb Curse

The practice of placing hidden (subliminal) ideas in select print advertisements is a technique used by advertisers.  Advertisers know that most people will not spend much time looking at print advertisements.  Therefore, hidden (subliminal) ideas, imagery, and words can be placed in print advertisements without immediate detection.

The Dark Side of Subliminal Advertising is a blog site that exposes the advertising technique of placing hidden (subliminal) ideas, imagery, and words in advertisements.  

It is important to realize that ads are not designed for the conscious mind, they are deliberately designed to reach the subconscious mind.  The subconscious mind operates under a different set of laws compared to the operations of the conscious mind.

On average, people look at a print ad for no more than two seconds.  Therefore the advertiser has two seconds in which to convey a message in order to increase sales.

With this in mind, look closely at this advertisement and see if you notice anything interesting:

This ad portrays a man smoking a cigarette at sunset.   The man has built a fire and is lighting a cigarette from this fire. 

Ancient Egypt was ruled by kings called pharaohs. Egyptians believed that the pharaoh was a child of the gods and a god himself. ¹

The smoker in this ad represents a customer for Camel cigarettes.  For J.R. Reynolds, the maker of Camel cigarettes, the customer is king.

“The Customer is King” is a “corporate cliche meaning that the direction of a business is ultimately determined by its customers. The business is compelled to sell products and services that customers want/need, at a price they are willing to pay, and provide an acceptable level of service, otherwise customers will look elsewhere and they will not make money.” ²

This ad shows a sunset behind the customer (king).

The sunset can represent the ending of someone’s life and “has always been associated with the symbol of death.” ³

Notice in the background that there is a pyramid.

The word “pyramid” is derived from the Greek words Pyramis and Pyramidos.  The meaning of the word Pryamis is obscure and may relate to the shape of a pyramid. ⁴

The word Pyramidos has been translated as "Fire in the Middle.” ⁵

Notice the large fire in this ad.  The flame appears to be touching the base of the pyramid.

It takes fire to light up a cigarette.

"The Egyptian sun god Ra, considered the father of all pharaohs, was said to have created himself from a pyramid-shaped mound of earth before creating all other gods. The pyramid’s shape is thought to have symbolized the sun’s rays" ⁶

“The ancient Egyptians first constructed pyramids to use as tombs for the kings and queens; their function later changed to be resting places for the souls of the deceased. Pyramid building was also later expanded to include pyramids built for non-royal (yet wealthy) individuals.” ⁷

In this ad, the pyramid represents the imminent tomb waiting for the death of the smoker.

The man in the above ad represents a king (pharaoh) whose future tomb (pyramid) lies in the background. 

Now take a look at this ad and see if you notice anything interesting:

The setting for this ad is twilight. 

Evening twilight is when “the sky generally remains somewhat bright and blue” ⁸ and symbolizes the “shadowy border of death.” ⁹

“Evening-light is associated with the West, symbolizing the location of death.” ¹⁰

The sunset in the West has always been associated with the symbol of death. ¹¹

It is interesting to note that when the Pyramids were built, they were deliberately aligned east to west. ¹²

The camel is facing West.

Notice that the man is kneeling.  According to the Encyclopedia Britannica,  the original meaning of the act of kneeling was when a worshipper approached the realm of the underworld. ¹³

The Ancient Egyptians believed that after death they would go to the dark and terrifying place called the Underworld. ¹⁴

MORE PYRAMIDS IN ADVERTISING:

Seeing pictures of camels and pyramids in an Egyptian setting is not unusual for Camel cigarette ads. 

However, take a look at the following three different cigarette brands that have pyramids in their ads.

PARLIAMENT AD:

The above Parliament ad doesn't take place in an Egyptian setting.  Now, why do you think that a pyramid would be placed in this ad? 

BENSON & HEDGES AD:

In the above Benson & Hedges ad, a giant pack of cigarettes appears as one of the  pyramids (tombs).

PYRAMID CIGARETTE AD:

Very interesting.  The above cigarette brand (Pyramid) is named after a "tomb."

The above three ads (Parliament, Benson & Hedges, and Pyramid) have pyramids (tombs) in them which symbolize the imminent graves for the kings (customers) of these cigarettes.

The association of pyramids with death is presented in a subliminal manner without immediate detection from the viewers of these ads.

MORE CAMEL ADS:

Here is another Camel advertisement:

In this ad, Joe Camel is shown busting out of a pyramid (tomb).  This pyramid (tomb) cannot contain Joe Camel (representing Camel cigarettes).  However, the pyramid (tomb) will contain the dead king (customer).

As smokers around the world are buried and gone, the camel continues to march on:

CONCLUSION:

In the United States, there are 443,000 annual deaths due to smoking. ¹⁵

This equates to about 1 out of every 5 deaths in the United States each year. ¹⁶

Worldwide, approximately one person dies every six seconds due to tobacco (one in 10 adult deaths). ¹⁷

“Tobacco has killed 50 million people in the last 10 years, and tobacco is responsible for more than 15 percent of all male deaths and 7 percent of female deaths.” ¹⁸

By 2030, the number of deaths from smoking and the chewing of tobacco will rise to 10 million deaths per year (worldwide). ¹⁹