Wilson Bryan Key


Wilson Bryan Key Ph.D. was the author of several books about subliminal messages and subliminal advertising.

Career

Key obtained his doctorate in communications from the University of Denver and taught journalism for a short period of time at the University of Western Ontario. He was a colleague and friend of Marshall McLuhan.
In a 1990 Reno, Nevada, court case against Judas Priest regarding subliminal messages and a suicide pact between two young men gained international attention. Key advised the plaintiffs lawyer to hire Bill Nickloff, an audio engineer, to find the subliminal messaging; however, the Judge found that the band and the label, CBS Corporation., were not responsible,

Death

Key died following complications resulting from surgery. He is interred at the Northern Nevada Veteran's Memorial Cemetery in Fernley, Nevada. He was survived by his wife and three daughters.

Criticism

His results and conclusions have been challenged, in books including the following: