Or

• Persuasive techniques applied by politicians, journalists, television personalities, and others to accomplish their desired ends.
• These techniques persuade us not through the give-and-take of argument and debate, but through manipulating symbols and basic human emotions
.

• Use of a celebrity (athletes, musicians, actors) or authority figure (doctors, auto mechanics, plumbers) to endorse or promote a product, cause, idea.
Products
• Examples: Troy Polomalu and L T anwswering mother’ call; meeting at end of tunnel
• Michael Jordan and Hanes
• Dentists and toothpastes
• Jessica Simpson and Pro Active Acne medication

Use of causes
• Sarah MacLaughlin—ASPCA
• Presidents Bush and Clinton –Tsunami relief
• P DiddyVote or die campaign
• Lance ArmstrongLive Strong, cancer

• Use of a common man, ordinary person to promote a product.
• Scenes of family, blue-collar workers, ordinary people
Products
Oil-man, T-Boone Pickins-- energy plan
Brawny - lumberjack—paper towels
Vonage – saved families hundreds of $ each year

Use with Causes (lofty purpose)
• Ordinary families using CHIP (health care for children)
• Joe the Plumber—ordinary citizen used to show values of all

• Use of threat of not being one of the crowd, being left out is substituted for evidence of the quality of the product
• Use of appeal to the subject to follow the crowd, to join in because others are doing so as well .

• Products such as the Verizon
Network
• Walmart ad-everyone tries to rush into store at same time
• Gatorade-Everyone follows Sidney
Crosby’s lead in drinking Gatorade
• Nike-Just do it

• Providing only information that is positive to an idea or product and omitting information that is negative to the idea or product
Ex: Warnings given at end of drug commercials

Use of technique to sell products
•Lipitor ads—positive information given at first; negative side effects rushed at end
•Alcohol ads—pleasant setting—pretty people, warnings about drunken driving and dangers to pregnant women

• Used to promote causes or ideas (Lofty purpose)
• BP—clean energy, environmentally friendly; do not address fact that it is not available in near future

• Use of words that have different positive meanings but are linked to highly valued concepts.
• Ex: patriotism, loyalty, green, environmentally friendly, low fat; no carbohydrates, organic

Used to sell products
• “New and Improved” Tide, Windex etc.
• Chevy—”American Built; Solid as a Rock”
• Room deodorizer— “Smells Like the
Great Outdoors”

Used for lofty purposes
Examples:
• Chevy – “American Built; Solid as a Rock”
– Promotes American Pride

Use of small group to represent the position of the whole group.
• Ex: Even though it is the first day, I can tell this is going to be a boring course.
• E-Harmony commercials: “I found my soul-mate. You can too
.
”
• I lost 50 pounds Dexatrim; you can too.

• Use of change in subject to distract the reader from topic under discussion.
• BP commercial displays windmills in background to distract us from the real issue of oil prices

• Transfer is a device by which the propagandist carries over the authority and prestige of something we respect and revere to something he would have us accept.
• Use of feeling of respect or reverence to something advertisers want public to accept or buy. Ex: White lab coats to sell pain relievers and make up.
• Names of cars –Infiniti, Mustang, Taurus (bull)

Used to sell products
• Example: Bridgestone—official tires of the NFL
• M&M’s official candy of the Olympics
Used for lofty purposes:
• Save the Children Network—authority of valued institution; therefore, give to the charity

• What is the purpose of the transfer?
• Is it effective?

• What is the propaganda device used here?
• What is the purpose?
• Is it effective? Why or why not?