I am not in the “subliminal image” school of thought…we are after all wired to see faces in clouds and wisps of smoke. Like “backwards masking” hiding demonic messages in rock music, some people hear only what they are excepting to hear.
However, there have been a handful of unmistakable images in the Watchtower’s artwork over the years. I remember the picture of the bearded man hidden within a woman’s skirt back in the 80’s. As to why these handful of images are hidden, I’ve no clue. I doubt the Watchtower would do this purposely, nor do I think this could be used to subconsciously instill anything into anyone, anymore than “backwards masking” could.
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/319826011008766698/
One such image, found on the link above, is on the back of the latest songbook, “Sing To Jehovah”. I didn’t believe it at first, but I dug up my old meeting bag, took out the songbook and looked at the back. And sure enough, the graphic image was there. In the bottom of the picture, in the middle, alongside the songbook the man is holding, there is an unmistakable picture of an aroused member of the male anatomy. I pointed this out to non-JWs I know and they empathically agreed. I can’t believe I never noticed it before.
Evidently in subsequent printings of this songbook, the artwork has been altered to remove this, but if you have the original printing, check it out and see what I mean. I do wonder if this is the reason for the release of the 3 new songs…that way, people will trade in their old songbooks or new ones, ridding this embarrassment once and for all.
I do wonder about the motivation behind this. Could it be a disgruntled Bethelite? Or one playing a prank? It goes to show that there is a breakdown in the system of 70-checks they went on about a few years ago.