Introduction
前言
I wrote these articles based on my past lectures at Dhurakij Pundit University in Bangkok , as well as my background in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. As I always say, I am not an expert in advertising; I am simply a language teacher and a lifelong learner with a deep interest in semiotics and psychology.
这些文章是我根据以往在曼谷博仁大学（DPU）的讲座内容 ，并结合我个人在工业与组织心理学方面的背景撰写而成的 。正如我一贯所言，我并非广告领域的专家；我只是一名语言教师，也是一名对符号学和心理学有着浓厚兴趣的学习者 。
The Art of Persuasion: Unlocking the Semiotics of Advertising
说服的艺术：揭开广告符号学的秘密
By Janpha Thadphoothon, Ed.D.
Have you ever stopped to wonder how many advertisements you’ve encountered today? Recent estimates suggest that the average person is now exposed to between 4,000 and 10,000 advertisements every day. This figure includes a wide array of marketing messages, from digital ads on websites and social media to television commercials, billboards, and product packaging. Advertising is quite literally everywhere.
你有没有停下来想过，今天你遇到了多少个广告？最近的估计表明，现在平均每个人每天接触到的广告在 4000 到 10000 条之间。这个数字包括了广泛的营销信息，从网站和社交媒体上的数字广告，到电视广告、广告牌和产品包装。广告简直无处不在。
But here is the curious part: advertisements rarely ever come right out and shout, “Buy this!”. So, how do they work? What makes them so successful at persuading us without a direct command? To understand this, we have to look at the semiotics of advertising—the study of signs and how they create meaning. 但奇怪的是：广告极少直接大喊“买这个！”。那么，它们是如何发挥作用的呢？是什么让它们在没有直接命令的情况下如此成功地说服了我们？要理解这一点，我们必须研究“广告符号学”——即研究符号及其如何创造意义的学科 。
The Legal Framework: Why Ads Are Subtle
法律框架：为什么广告如此含蓄
One reason advertisements are so subtle is due to the legal landscape. In many countries, including Thailand, the U.S., and Australia, there are strict limits on the types of claims a brand can make. For instance, an advertiser cannot simply claim their product is “100% fruit juice” or of the “best quality” without providing clear evidence. Because they are limited in making direct assertions of fact, they must rely on more sophisticated, symbolic methods to win us over. 广告如此含蓄的一个原因在于法律环境 。在包括泰国、美国和澳大利亚在内的许多国家，品牌可以做出的声明类型受到严格限制 。例如，如果没有明确的证据，广告商不能简单地声称其产品是“100% 果汁”或“品质最佳” 。由于在直接陈述事实方面受到限制，他们必须依靠更复杂、更具象征意义的方法来赢得我们的青睐。
Cracking the Code: How Meaning is Transferred
破解代码：意义是如何传递的
Semiotic analysis allows us to see the “hidden” language of an ad. Advertisers use a variety of codes—visual, linguistic, and audio—to communicate. This involves: 符号学分析让我们能够看到广告中“隐藏”的语言 。广告商使用各种代码（视觉、语言和音频）来进行交流 。这包括：
- Colors and Vocabulary: Used to “anchor” a specific feeling or message to a product. 颜色与词汇： 用于将特定的感觉或信息“锚定”到产品上 。
- Transferring Meaning: Through connotations, ads transfer desirable qualities—like wealth, happiness, or coolness—onto the product itself. 意义转移： 通过内涵，广告将财富、幸福或酷感等令人向往的特质转移到产品本身 。
- Differentiation: The process of making one product stand out from a sea of similar competitors. 差异化： 让一种产品在众多相似的竞争对手中脱颖而出的过程 。
The AI Revolution: Personalized Persuasion
AI 革命：个性化的说服
In the modern era, AI advertising has taken this persuasion to a new level. By using artificial intelligence and machine learning, companies can now automate and improve their campaigns with incredible precision. They leverage data analysis and algorithms to target ads more effectively than ever before.
在现代，AI 广告将这种说服力提升到了一个新的水平。通过使用人工智能和机器学习，公司现在可以以惊人的精确度自动化并改进其营销活动。他们利用数据分析和算法，比以往任何时候都更有效地投放定向广告。
By analyzing vast amounts of data, AI identifies patterns and insights humans might miss, enabling more personalized and efficient advertising strategies. This means the “signs” you see are often specifically chosen just for you.
通过分析海量数据，AI 能够识别出人类可能会忽略的模式和洞察力，从而实现更个性化、更高效的广告策略。这意味着你看到的“符号”往往是专为你挑选的。
Beyond the Product: Myth and Ideology
超越产品：神话与意识形态
At its most powerful level, advertising taps into cultural myths and ideologies. It isn’t just selling a watch or a car; it is selling a version of the world. By associating products with specific lifestyle ideals, advertisements reinforce certain ways of thinking and living. 在最强大的层面上，广告利用了文化神话和意识形态 。它不仅仅是在销售手表或汽车，而是在销售一种对世界的认知。通过将产品与特定的生活理想联系起来，广告强化了某些思维和生活方式。
The next time you find yourself wanting to buy something after seeing an ad, ask yourself: Are you being persuaded by the product’s facts, or have you been caught in its semiotic web?
下次当你发现自己在看到广告后想要购买某种东西时，请问问自己：你是被产品的事实所说服的，还是陷入了它的符号陷阱？
Signs, Matters, and Subliminal Perception
符号、物质与潜意识感知
Janpha Thadphoothon
In semiotics, a sign is defined as “anything that communicates a meaning that is not the sign itself to the interpreter of the sign.” In other words, a sign is anything that represents something else, becoming meaningful to an individual based on their unique capacity. While this is the standard definition in semiotics, I find it a bit broad, perhaps even crude. In psychology, we speak of stimuli—anything that activates the sensory organs. Physicists, on the other hand, might refer to it as matter, ranging from the microscopic to the observable.
在符号学中，符号被定义为“任何向解释者传达非符号自身意义的事物”。换句话说，符号是任何代表其他事物的东西，并基于个人的理解能力而产生意义。虽然这是符号学的标准定义，但我认为它相当广泛，甚至有些粗糙。在心理学中，我们讨论“刺激”——即任何能刺激感觉器官的事物。而物理学家可能会将其称为“物质”，涵盖了从微观到宏观的范畴。
A sign is not limited to physical objects; it can be an existing idea, an emerging one, or even co-existing concepts that blend together. Furthermore, a sign can manifest as an image or a sound. A stimulus can be a picture, a sound, a touch, or a taste. It can even be a mental image or a fleeting perception. Semioticians generally focus on languages and symbols, rarely delving as deeply into human physiology as psychologists do.
符号不仅限于实物；它可以是一个现有的想法、一个新生的想法，甚至是融合在一起的共存概念。此外，符号可以表现为图像或声音。刺激可以是图像、声音、触觉或味觉。它甚至可以是一个人的心理意象或感知。符号学家通常专注于语言或符号，很少像心理学家那样深入研究人体生理学。
In psychology, the concept of “subliminal perception” is particularly fascinating. This is the processing of sensory information below the threshold of conscious awareness, capable of subtly influencing emotions, attitudes, and behaviors. This refers to the moment an organism encounters an oncoming entity or matter that sits below the threshold of conscious awareness. In Eastern philosophy, this phenomenon is known as “contact” or Phassa (in Pali).
在心理学中，“潜意识感知”这一概念尤为迷人。它是指对低于意识阈值的感觉信息的处理，能够微妙地影响情绪、态度和行为。这指的是有机体感知到某种低于意识阈值的实体或物质的时刻。在东方哲学中，这种现象被称为“触”（巴利语为 Phassa）。
Scientifically validated through techniques like visual masking (e.g., flashing images for less than 17ms), subliminal perception can evoke immediate emotional reactions—like fear or liking—and prime cognitive tasks. Many of these contacts are so feeble or subtle that the conscious mind fails to register them. However, once an entity is perceived—even subconsciously—it rarely ends there. That sensory or mental registration functions as a sign, which can trigger a cascade of behavioral responses.
通过视觉掩蔽等技术（例如闪烁时间小于 17 毫秒的图像）进行的科学验证表明，潜意识感知可以引起即时的情感反应（如恐惧或喜欢）并启动认知任务。许多这类“触”是如此微弱或微妙，以至于意识层面无法记录。然而，一旦一个实体被感知——即使是下意识地——它通常不会就此结束。那种感官或心理记录会作为一个符号，触发一系列的行为反应。
This concept is heavily utilized in subliminal communication within advertising. Advertisers often embed hidden shapes, words, or logos into their content to influence consumers’ subconscious minds. While it can influence immediate, small-scale behaviors, it is important to note that it is not a “magic bullet” for persuasion or total behavioral control.
这一概念在广告中的潜意识传播中得到了广泛利用。广告商经常在内容中嵌入隐藏的形状、文字或标志，以影响消费者的下意识。虽然它可以影响即时的、小规模的行为，但必须注意，它并不是说服或完全行为控制的“灵丹妙药”。
Masters of meditation prefer to remain silent, striving to be fully aware of our responses to the internal signs we manufacture within ourselves.
冥想大师们倾向于保持沉默，力求充分意识到我们对自身内部制造出的符号所做出的反应。
The history of this field is long; subliminal therapy dates back to the early 1900s. One of the earliest methods was “whisper therapy,” where suggestions were whispered to a patient in the hope of subconsciously inducing behavioral improvement.
潜意识疗法起源于 20 世纪初。最早使用的潜意识暗示方法之一被称为“耳语疗法”，即向患者耳语建议，希望通过潜意识引导其改善行为。