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Propaganda techniques in today’s advertising
Advertisers want your business, and they will use a variety of clever as slogans to get
it.
If
you
’
ve
ever
responded
to
ads,
you
have
been
swayed
by
the
effective
use
of
propaganda. Y
ou may associate the word
propaganda
with the tactics used by strong-arm
governments.
But
Ann
McClintock
provides
evidence
that
we
are
the
targets
of
propaganda every day and that it shapes many of our opinions and decisions.
Americans,
adults
and
children
alike,
are
being
seduced.
They
are
being
brain- washed. And few of us protest. Why? Because the seducers and the brainwashers
are
the
advertisers
we
willingly
invite
into
our
homes.
We
are
victims,
content---even
eager
—
to be victimized. We read advertisers
’
propaganda messages in newspapers and
magazines; we watch their alluring images on television. We absorb their messages and
images into our subconscious. We all do it
—
even those of us who claim to see through
advertisers
’
tricks
and
therefore
feel
immune
to
advertising
’
s
charm.
Advertisers
learn
heavily on propaganda to sell products, whether the
“
products
”
are a brand of toothpaste,
a candidate for office, or a particular political viewpoint.
Propaganda is a systematic effort to influence people
’
s opinions, to win them over to
a certain view or side. Propaganda is not necessarily concerned with what is true or false,
good or bad. Propagandists simply want people to believe the messages being sent. Often,
propagandists will use outright lies or more subtle deceptions to sway people
’
s opinions. In
a propaganda war, any tactic is considered fair.
When
we
hear
the
word
“
propaganda,
”
we
usually
think
of
a
foreign
menace:
anti-American radio programs broadcast by a
totalitarian regime or brainwashing tactics
practiced on hostages. Although propaganda may seem relevant only in the political arena,
the concept can be applied fruitfully to the way products and ideas are sold in advertising.
Indeed, the vast majority of us are targets in advertisers
’
propaganda war. Every day
, we
are
bombarded
with
slogans,
and
internet
pop-up
ads,
commercials,
packaging
claims, billboards, trademarks, logos, and designer brands---all forms of propaganda. One
study reports that each of
us, during an average day, is exposed
to over
five hundred
advertising claims of various types. This saturation may even increase in the future, since
current
trends include ads on movie screens, shopping carts,
videocassettes, and even
public television.
What
kind
of
propaganda
techniques
do
advertisers
use?
There
are
seven
basic
types:
1.
Name Calling. Name calling is a propaganda tactic in which negatively charged
names
are
hurled
against
the
opposing
side
or
competitor.
By
using
such
names,
propagandists
try
to
arouse
feelings
of
mistrust,
fear,
and
hate
in
their
audiences.
For
example,
a
political
advertisement
may
label
an
opposing
candidate
a
“
loser,
”
“
fence- sitter,
”
or
“
warmonger.
”
Depending on the advertiser
’
s target market, labels such as
“a
friend of big business
”
or
“
a dues-paying member of
the party in power
”
can be the
epithets
that
damage
an
opponent.
Ads
for
products
may
also
use
name
calling.
An
American manufacturer may refer, for instance, to a
“
foreign car
”
in its commercial
—
not an
“
imported
”
one.
The
label
of
foreignness
will
have
unpleasant
connotations
in
many
people
’
s
minds.
A
childhood
rhyme
claims
that
“
names
can
never
hurt
me,
”
but
name
calling is an effective way to damage the opposition, whether it is another car maker or a
congressional candidate.
2. Glittering generalities. Using glittering generalities is the opposite of name calling.
In
this case, advertisers surround their products
with attractive
—
and slippery---words and
phrases.
They
use
vague
terms
that
are
difficult
to
define
and
that
may
have
different
meanings
to
different
people:
freedom,
democratic,
all-American,
progressive,
Christian,
and justice. Many such words have strong affirmative overtones. This kind of language stirs
positive feelings in people, feelings that may spill over to the product or idea being pitched.
As
with
name
calling,
the
emotional
response
may
overwhelm
logic.
T
arget
audiences
accept
the
product
without
thinking
very
much
about
what
the
glittering
generalities
mean
—
or whether they even apply to the product. After all, how can anyone oppose
“
truth,
justice, and the American way
”
?
The ads
for politicians and political causes often
use glittering generalities because
such
“
buzzwords
”
can influence votes. Election slogans include high sounding but basically
empty phrases like the following:
“He
cares about people.
”
(
That’s
nice, but is he a better candidate than his opponent?)
“Vote
for progress.
”
(Progress
by whose
standards?)
“They’ll
make this country great again.
”
(What does
“
great
”
mean? Does
“
great
”
mean
the same thing to others as it does to me?)
“
Vote for the future.
”
(What kind of future?)
“
If you love America, vote for Phyllis smith.
”
(If I don
’
t vote for smith, does that mean I
don
’
t love America?)
Ads for consumer goods are also sprinkled with glittering generalities. Product names,
for instance, are supposed to evoke good feelings:
Luvs
diapers,
Stayfree
feminine hygiene
products,
Joy
liquid
detergent,
Loving
Care
hair
color,
Almost
Home
cookies,
Yankee
Doodle
pastries. Product slogans lean heavily on vague but comforting phrases:
…
General
Electric
“
brings good things to life,
”
and Dow Chemical
“
lets you do great things.
”
Chevrolet,
we
are
told,
is
the
“
heartbeat
of
American,
”
and
Chrysler
boasts
cars
that
are
“built
by
Americans for Americans.
”
3. Transfer. In transfer, advertisers try to improve the image of a product by associating
it with a symbol most people respect, like the American flag or Uncle Sam. The advertisers
hope that the prestige attached to the symbol will carry over to the product. Many companies
use
transfer
devices
to
identify
their
products:
Lincoln
Insurance
shows
a
profile
of
the
President; Continental Insurance portrays a Revolutionary War minuteman; Amtrak
’
s logo is
red,
white, and blue; Liberty Mutual
’
s corporate symbol is the Statue of Liberty; Allstate
’
s
name is cradled by a pair of protective, fatherly hands.
Corporations also
use the
transfer
technique when
whey sponsor prestigious shows
on
radio
and
television.
These
shows
function
as
symbols
of
dignity
and
class.
Kraft
Corporation,
for instance, sponsored a
“
Leonard Bernstein Conducts Beethoven
”
concert,
while
Gulf
Oil
is
the
sponsor
of
National
Geographic
specials
and
Mobil
supports
public
television
’
s
Masterpiece
Theater
.
In
this
way
,
corporations
can
reach
an
educated,
influential
audience
and,
perhaps,
improve
their
public
image
by
associating
themselves
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