Propaganda techniques Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002 Whose voice guides your choice?

Propaganda is … … form of communication … aimed at swaying or influencing your attitude … toward or away from some cause or position.

Influence of Propaganda  If you watch 30 hours of TV per week, you will… –View roughly 37,822 commercials per year That’s about 100 TV ads per day  You will see another 100 to 300 ads per day through other mass media If companies did not think you could be influenced, they would not spend billions of $ on it!

So … if everyone is trying to influence you how do you ….

How do you decide who is the best candidate… Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002

or which is the best toothpaste ? Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002

Who uses Propaganda?  Media & Advertising  Military  Politicians  Governments  Newspapers…  … and You and I

What are Propaganda techniques? Designed to persuade and to influence your Opinions Emotions Attitudes Behavior Propaganda techniques seek to “guide your choice.”

What are some of the methods or techniques used to persuade us? Bandwagon Name-calling Testimonial Glittering Generality Plain-folks appeal Transfer Emotional words Faulty Reasoning Fear

Bandwagon o Everybody is doing this. Join the crowd! You must JOIN in to FIT in! o If you want to fit in, you need to “jump on the bandwagon” and do it too. Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002

Bandwagon example: Everyone in Auburn is supporting Bob Riley. Shouldn’t you be part of the winning team?

Name-Calling A negative word or feeling is attached to an idea, product, or person implying that we should not be interested.

Name calling example : Do we want a mayor who will leave us in debt? Spending grew 100% under Mayor Moneybags! Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002

Name calling example: In a campaign speech to a logging company, the Congressman referred to his environmentally conscious opponent as a "tree hugger."

Testimonial & Endorsements A famous person endorses an idea, a product, a candidate and implies the person uses it and so should we!

Testimonial example: An important person or famous figure endorses a product.

Testimonial example: If we drink milk we will all be as famous and as strong as superman.

 Target younger audiences  Often use cartoons to sell a product  The Ninja Turtles sell pizza, because they often eat pizza on the show Cute Celebrities

Glittering Generality Admired words like truth, democracy, beauty, timeless inspire positive feelings for a person, idea, or product. Makes you think positively about a product - catchy phrases - no guarantees - no evidence

Glittering Generality example: If you want to be brighter, you’ll support Bill Brite. Look on the bright side! Vote for Bill Brite ! Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002

Glittering Generality example: Gatorade: "Life is a sport, drink it up!“ That sounds good, but what does it mean??

Plain-folks Appeal This idea, product, or person is associated with normal, everyday people and activities.

Plain folks Example: We want a Jim Smith, a mayor who supports the regular American worker. Vote for Smith Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002

Like a good neighbor … Plain folks Example:

Transfer Symbols, quotes, or images of famous people are used to convey a message to make you think you can be just like them!

Transfer example: Good feelings, looks, or ideas transferred to the person for whom the product is intended.

Transfer example: Joe uses symbols of America to tie his restaurant to American values for Independence Day. Celebrate the American Way this 4 th of July- Eat at Joe’s Joe’s Barbeque Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002

… built American tough Transfer example:

(Negative)Transfer Example: During the Kerry vs. Bush campaign an through the internet showed similar physical characteristics between John Kerry and a fictional character.

Emotional Words Words that leave us with positive feelings are used to describe a product, person, or idea. We associate those words and, therefore, those positive feelings with the product.

Emotional words example: luxury, beautiful, paradise, economical Used to evoke positive feelings Happiness Low price Fun Flag (patriotism)

Emotional words example: What feelings are inspired by the words “true love”? If you wear this cologne will someone fall in love with you? True Love Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002

Fear Tells us something to make us afraid Suggests that the product or person will save us from some danger

Fear example: If you use Safety Ware, it will keep people from stealing your identity – Created the idea that you should worry about identity theft and that Safety ware will prevent it. Guard against Identity theft Use Safety Ware Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002

 The origin of the term slogan is “a war cry or rally cry” (and is often used in political or patriot context), but it is commonly used to describe “a brief attention- getting phrase used in advertising promotion.” Slogan  A phrase that “rhymes or sounds in a catchy manner,” which emphasizes its musicality, as being associated with a song or a tune. Jingle

Evidence Claims  Facts and Figures – statistics to prove superiority.  Magic Ingredients – suggests some miraculous discovery makes product exceptionally effective.  Hidden Fears – suggests that user is safe from some danger.

Evidence Claims: Will this help you reduce your cholesterol?  Trident: Four out of Five Dentists

Evidence Claims: The viewer is led to believe one product is better than another, although no real proof is offered. Take the Pepsi Challenge

Wit & Humor  Travelocity's “ Roaming Gnome” campaign is based on the prank in which you steal your neighbor’s lawn gnome, take it to some exotic location, and send back photos of the gnome to the owner on top of some landmark.

Wit & Humor

 THE 20 th CENTURIES TOP 10 COMMERICAL JINGLES 1.You Deserve a Break Today (McDonald’s) 2.Be All That You Can Be (U.S. Army) 3.Mmm Mmm Good! (Campbell Soup) 4.See The USA In Your Chevrolet (GM) 5.I Wish I Were An Oscar Mayer Wiener (Oscar Mayer) 6.Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun (Wrigley's Gum) 7.It’s The Real Thing (Coca-Cola) Source: Advertising Age

Slogan TOP 10 SLOGANS OF THE CENTURY 1. Just do it (Nike) 2. Good to the last drop (Maxwell House) 3. Breakfast of champions (Wheaties) 4. When it rains it pours (Morton Salt) 5. Where's the beef? (Wendy's) 6. Let your fingers do the walking (Yellow Pages) 7. Melt in your mouth, not in your hand (M&M candies) 8. We bring good things to life (General Electric)

So…

How do we make sure that we are making informed choices, instead of allowing others to sway us in our decision-making? Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002

We make our own choices when … we read and listen to reliable sources, we watch for combinations of truths and lies, we check for hidden messages, we watch for use of propaganda techniques, We think critically

and, most importantly, educationservice WHEN WE LISTEN TO OUR OWN VOICES !

 Be a conscientious consumer  Know what devices are trying to influence you  Then… Make an informed decision

Critical thinking questions  Who created/paid for the message?  For what purpose was it made?  Who is the ‘target audience’?  What techniques are used to attract my attention & increase believability ?  Who or what might be omitted and why?  What do they want me to think or do?  How do I know what it means?  Where might I go to get more information?

Look for facts to back up your choice. Find out who is presenting those facts. Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002

Are they facts at all, or is the advertiser using propaganda techniques to persuade you? Clipart-Microsoft Office XP 2002