This misnamed video exposes not subliminal advertising but the psychological principle of association and contagion by which two unlike things placed next to each other take on, in the mind of the uncritical viewer, characteristics of each other.

It is a very good attempt to inoculate viewers against clown advertising by associating happy clowns with scary clowns. The problem with the video’s actual argument is that advertising fruit will increase fruit consumption just as much as advertising cheeseburgers and french fries increases the consumption of hamburgers and french fries and other junk food. It will still end up with fat kids taking in too many calories, only this time because of too many bananas. Also, the association of fruit with cheeseburgers in this video creates a different, unconscious dietary misconception in the viewer. The real problem is advertising aimed at children. Not only does it make them overeat, it makes their parents overspend on toys.

Solution: Turn off the TV. Maybe if parents watched Videodrome a few times that would inoculate them against television.

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