Propaganda techniques Or How the media gets Americans

Propaganda techniques Or How the media gets Americans to buy, think, and vote

What is propaganda? • 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.

Testimonial • 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

Testimonials Use of causes • Sarah Mac. Laughlin—ASPCA • Presidents Bush and Clinton –Tsunami relief • P Diddy- Vote or die campaign • Lance Armstrong- Live Strong, cancer

Plain Folks • 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

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

Bandwagon • 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.

Bandwagon • 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

Card-stacking • 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

Card-stacking 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

Card-stacking • 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

Glittering generalities • 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

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

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

Hasty generalization 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.

Red Herring • 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 • 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)

Transfer 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

Political ads using transfer • What is the purpose of the transfer? • Is it effective?

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