Contrary to popular belief, subliminal advertising does not produce any effects at all, especially brainwashing effects.  There is a rumor that subliminal messages actually result in a loss of control of the viewer, where the individual’s mind is taken over by these unconscious marketing techniques.  The article “Subliminal Advertising:  How a Generation Was Fooled” discusses that “Freud's theory of the unconscious has given us a framework for believing that messages could just possibly worm their way into our minds by sneaking under our defences, thereby exploiting us not only without our knowledge, but even possibly against our will” (par. 1).  However, this is a far-fetched assumption.  This theory is mistaken because, as recent research has shown, the final decision is up to the will of the individual.  According to the article “Advertising” published by Current Issues, the role of marketing is to educate the viewers of the product so that they can make informed purchasing choices (par. 4).  Humans are not blank slates absorbing and following every stimulus that enters the brain.  The magazine The Age reports that “it's not what the message does to the audience, but what the audience does with the message, that determines whether advertising will work or not” (“Subliminal Advertising:  How a Generation Was Fooled” par. 12).  Therefore, the final decision is up to the individual at hand.  The conscious mind is powerful as well and makes all final decisions.  Subliminal messages in advertising is not at all related to brainwashing.