Several major brands, such as Coors, Microsoft and PlayStation, have already started researching ways to infiltrate our dreams and create a subconscious desire for their brands.
Can our dreams really include sponsored content? According to recent studies, not only is that possible, but it even seems as a likely scenario for the near future, as some companies have began experimenting with potential ways they can have their brand name appear in our sleep.
A travel writer from Los Angeles named Bobbi Gould claims she took part in one such experiment by US beer manufacturer Molson Coors, who were attempting to develop a campaign for the Super Bowl. According to Gould, she spotted a strange ad on Craigslist (in real-life) which was posted by a “big brand” which was search for “willing sleepers” and was going to pay them $1,000 each.
She and her boyfriend decided to respond and they found themselves in a strange warehouse along with a number of other people. They were all told to hook themselves up to a strange-looking device and watch a video by the Coors employees who were also there with them.
The video featured quiet waterfalls, lush green fields and flashes of the Coors logo. After it was over, the participants were instructed to go to sleep while listening to a “sleep-stimulus” created by composer Kaitlyn Aurelia.
For the next eight hours, Gould would experience a number of strange dreams.
“I had one where I was on a pogo stick jumping around with Coors products,” she tells The Hustle. “In another one, I was on a plane dropping Coors cans on people and they were cheering for me.”
She described the experience as being treated “…like lab rats,” adding that something simply “…didn’t feel right” about the whole process.
However the company were quick to defend this new marketing innovation. “Anyone can choose to watch or not watch the stimulus video and listen to the soundscape,” says Marcelo Pascoa, vp of marketing at Molson Coors when speaking to the Muse. “Some might be curious about what they could potentially experience, while others will be happy to just read about others’ dreams. While this is definitely new territory for brands to explore, we’ve made a point to craft the experience in a way that gives people something great—a refreshing, rejuvenating dream.”
But if you think that this is the first time that a major company has tried to enter the world of our dreams, guess again.
The two biggest video game hardware developers, Microsoft and Sony, are both in the current field of research, with the US-based tech giant attempting to come up with ways to induce dreams about their latest Xbox titles and the PlayStation creators coming up with a new game that apparently make people dream about playing the 1984 classic Tetris.
Even Burger King have been known to dabble into this sort of thing, when in 2018 they created a Halloween burger which was “clinically proven to induce nightmares.”
With all this in mind, our future naps seem pretty scary, especially considering the amount of ads we’re constantly bombarded with when we’re awake.
