Whose voice guides your
choice?
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Propaganda techniques
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…
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or which is the
best toothpaste ?
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Who uses Propaganda?
Media & Advertising:
•Television
•Radio
•Billboards
•Bumper stickers
•Magazines,
Newspapers
Military
Politicians
Governments
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
oEverybody is doing this. Join the crowd!
You must JOIN in to FIT in!
oIf you want to fit in, you need to “jump on
the bandwagon” and do it too.
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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!
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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.
http://www.spreadingjam.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/superman-got-milk-ad-commercial1.jpg
Cute Celebrities
 Target younger audiences
 Often use cartoons to sell a
product
 The Ninja Turtles sell pizza,
because they often eat
pizza on the show
http://www.lovefilm.com/lovefilm/images/products/6/21586-large.jpg
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.
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Look on the bright
side!
Vote for Bill Brite !
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.
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Vote for Smith
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 4th
of JulyEat at Joe’s
Joe’s Barbeque
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Transfer example:
http://www.automobilesreview.com/uploads/2008/11/built-ford-tough-2009-f-150.jpg
…built American tough
(Negative)Transfer Example:
During the Kerry vs. Bush campaign an e-mail
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
Flag (patriotism)
Fun
Happiness
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
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Slogan
 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.”
Jingle
 A phrase that
“rhymes or sounds in
a catchy manner,”
which emphasizes its
musicality, as being
associated with a
song or a tune.
 THE 20th CENTURIES TOP 10 COMMERICAL JINGLES
1. You Deserve a Break Today (McDonald’s)
2. Be All That You Can Be (U.S. Army)
3. Pepsi-Cola Hits The Spot (Pepsi-Cola)
4. Mmm Mmm Good! (Campbell Soup)
5. See The USA In Your Chevrolet (GM)
6. I Wish I Were An Oscar Mayer Wiener (Oscar Mayer)
7. Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun (Wrigley's Gum)
8. Winston Tastes Good Like A Cigarette Should (Winston)
9. It’s The Real Thing (Coca-Cola)
10.A Little Dab’ll Do Ya (Brylcreem)
Source: Advertising Age
Slogan
TOP 10 SLOGANS OF THE CENTURY
1. Diamonds are forever (DeBeers)
2. Just do it (Nike)
3. The pause that refreshes (Coca-Cola)
4. We try harder (Avis)
5. Good to the last drop (Maxwell House)
6. Breakfast of champions (Wheaties)
7. Does she ... or doesn't she? (Clairol)
8. When it rains it pours (Morton Salt)
9. Where's the beef? (Wendy's)
10. Let your fingers do the walking (Yellow Pages)
11. M&Ms melt in your mouth, not in your hand (M&M candies)
12. We bring good things to life (General Electric)
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 –
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Guard against Identity
theft
Created the idea that you
should worry about
identity theft and that
Safety ware will prevent
it.
Use Safety Ware
www.safetyware.com
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?
http://repairstemcell.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/cheerios.jpg
 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
So…
How do we make sure that we are making
informed choices,
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instead of allowing others to sway us in our
decision-making?
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,
www.scottish.parliament.uk/ educationservice
WHEN WE LISTEN TO OUR
OWN VOICES !
http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/844/10089620.JPG
http://sharetv.org/images/i_am_weasel-show.jpg
 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?
Critical thinking questions
 Who produced and/or paid for the message?
 What is the purpose of the message?
 Who is the ‘target audience’ ?
 What techniques are used to both attract attention
and increase believability?
 What lifestyles are promoted and why?
 Does the message contain bias or stereotypes?
Critical thinking questions
 Why is this message being sent?
 Who stands to benefit from the message?
 Who or what might be omitted and why?
 How might different people interpret the message
differently from me?
 What can I do with the information I obtain from
the message?
 What do you know; not know; like to know?
Look for facts to back up
your choice.
Find out who is presenting
those facts.
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Are they facts at all,
or is the advertiser
using propaganda
techniques to
persuade you?
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