Propaganda Techniques
Propaganda Techniques in Today’s Advertising by Ann McClintock
Americans, adults and children alike, are being seduced. They are being brainwashed. 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 message 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 lean heavily on propaganda to sell their 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, print 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
Americans, adults and children alike, are being seduced. They are being brainwashed. 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 message 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 lean heavily on propaganda to sell their 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, print 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