Propaganda & Advertising

Propaganda Techniques in Advertising: The Oblivious Consumer

Trisha McIntyre
Sullivan College of Technology and Design

Propaganda & Advertising

When considering propaganda, the first thought that comes to

mind is likely war or politics. Throughout history, there are many
examples of propaganda, one group or regime seeking to control
another; however, the average person encounters propaganda
everyday. President of the Marketing Firm Yankelovich, Jay WalkerSmith said, "Everywhere we turn we're saturated with advertising
messages trying to get our attention, weve gone from being exposed
to about 500 ads a day back in the 1970's to as many as 5,000 a day
today"(Johnson, 2006). Propaganda is a powerful and persuasive form
of communication though the term isnt widely used today; its
techniques are still employed in advertising. It is not uncommon for
advertisements to use propaganda techniques to grab our attention by
using our emotions and relying on our initial reactions, these ads are
constructed in hopes to bypass intellect and reason in order to sell
their products. In this paper, I will define propaganda and its origins
and describe techniques used by propagandists and advertisers alike,
while investigating what types of propaganda we identify with.

Propaganda comes from the Latin word propagare meaning to

sow or propagate (Jowett & ODonnell, 2012, p.2). The Oxford English

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Dictionary defines propagate as to Spread and promote (an idea,

theory, etc.) widely. The dictionary also defines the word propaganda
as chiefly derogatory Information, especially of a biased or misleading
nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or
point of view (oxforddictionary).
In its origins propaganda is an ancient and honorable word.
Religious activities, which were associated with propaganda,
commanded the respectful attention of humankind. It was in
later times that the word came to have a selfish, dishonest, or
subversive association (AHA, 2013).
History has sullied the word and its uses; propaganda in its most
recognizable form was used to spread hate and fear, most notably
during times of conflict.

Controlling people through their beliefs is not a new concept. The

battle for peoples minds dates back to Ancient Athens, where Greeks
who had different political and religious views used games, theater,
assembly, law courts and religious festivals to propagandize their ideas
and beliefs (AHA, 2013). Propaganda has continued throughout the
ages and can be seen being used during
World War I and World War II as a political
tool for recruiting and most notably by
Nazi Germany. As Eskilson states,

Figure 1, Chamberlin's Work,

https://lh6.ggpht.com/PUuHiSUpZXv6P6Z2la7unSmSr
BTBeTFcaKVcERMYmILl55mq2yIQ0eHSRRDYJBftASIbw=s130

Propaganda & Advertising

Scholars consider the Nazi regime to be one of the

most media-aware governments of the twentieth
century. The Nazis used mass media in order to
sway public opinion (Eskilson, 2007, p.266). Hitler
enlisted Graphic Designers to illustrate some of
histories most prolific war posters that vary from
portraying Hitler as the protector of Germany to
emotionally manipulative posters like Chamberlins

Figure 2, War Bonds,

https://lh5.ggpht.com/QcvRhXfDBLevKbRG
L1SopTq0izNyHL690dw_eZC89gknJVZ8h1HPE6ctxpWVG2Ji_eH=s85

Work, which depicts assumed dead German civilians with a photo of

British Prime minister, Neville Chamberlin. Iconic posters like Norman
Rockwells Save Freedom of Speech, 1943 poster advertising War
Bonds appealing to the contrast of American society to that of Nazi
Germany (Eskilson, 2007, p.283). These propaganda techniques,
while different, accomplished the same goal, which was uniting each
nation to its leaders in support of a war.

Terence Qualter says there are four basic criteria for successful
propaganda: it must be seen, understood, remembered and acted on.
The combination of these 4 components is paramount for effective
visual communication (Jowett & ODonnell, 2012, p.299). Through the
study of propaganda, designers can create powerful communications,
the kind that raises awareness to social or political issues, though its

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most commonly seen in advertising, designers have always played the

role or messenger.
The seven-devices of propaganda analysis first appeared in
November 1937 in the second issue of Propaganda Analysis, the
bulletin of the newly chartered Institute for Propaganda Analysis (IPA)
(Sproule, 2015). The article explained that we are fooled by
propaganda because we dont recognize it when we see it. The seven
propaganda techniques are as follows: Card stacking, Testimonial,
Glittering generalities, Transfer, Plain folks, Bandwagon, and Namecalling. These techniques are used by many advertising agencies
throughout the world and have been adapted to suit their needs. Card
stacking is showing a products best features, telling half-truths and
ignoring or lying about its potential problems or side effects (where
drug companies are concerned). Another device see often in
advertising is Testimonial, this is where the use of a well known
respected person often celebrities or political figures are used to
endorse a product or service (athletes selling sport drinks). The third
technique is Glittering generalities, this is the use of virtuous words or
ideas to evoke a positive response or approval from the intended
audience, words associated with values or patriotism (McDonalds is
Americas favorite). Transfer is another technique used that relates
something or someone respected with a product. Symbols are
commonly used in Transfer, for example, flags, crosses, statue of

Propaganda & Advertising

liberty, sex appeal, power and money are all effective symbols. The
use of Plain folks, another technique, is where everyday people are
used to sell a product or service giving the impression that theyre
one of us we use it you should too. Another propaganda technique
advertisers use is bandwagon where everyone is doing it. The act of
persuading consumers to take a course of action based on what others
are doing, be on the winning side and join the millions. Lastly, name
calling, is the use of names or words to evoke hate or fear, an
example, by saying foreign rather than imported when it comes to
non-native materials is enough to perhaps persuade a consumer to buy
into your product vs. the other (McClintock, 2003).

Today, propaganda techniques are used in everything we see

from media coverage, radio, product advertising, to fast food
restaurants. According to the American Historical Association, Recent
economic changes have expanded the volume of propaganda. Under
the conditions of mass production and mass consumption, techniques
of propaganda and public relations have been greatly developed to
help sell commodities and services and to engender good will among
consumers, employees, other groups, and the public at large (AHA,
2012). Osgood concludes that,
[T]he days of brazenly propagandistic posters and radio
broadcasts may have faded into history, but the science of

Propaganda & Advertising

propaganda has simply evolved into less overt forms of image

making and media manipulation. Paralleling a broader
development in international politics, where symbols and images
loom large as critical components of political power, the
phenomenon of posturing for public opinion has become
increasingly sophisticated, involving such techniques as staged
media events, generated news, orchestrated public appearances,
and carefully scripted sound bites. The communication
techniques that camouflage modern propaganda have obscured
the basic fact that the end of the Cold War has brought about
more propaganda, not less (Osgood, 2002).

Osgood describes a modernized version of propaganda

techniques and its uses in todays world. The truth in Osgoods claims
can be seen on any News channel today. Propaganda in its original
wartime uses still exists and is used today by governments and
organizations, an example, Islamic State (Isis) is using the wests
media tools and techniques against it. Isis has proved fluent in
YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, internet memes (see:
#catsofjihad) and other social media (Rose, 2014). Isis targets Islamic
people in their propaganda hoping to recruit to their cause. The goal of
propaganda is to control what people believe, its about ideology,
political, religious or otherwise. He who controls the public mind

Propaganda & Advertising

controls the public. Advertising is all about appealing to your

prospective consumer, and propaganda techniques lends well to
manipulating beliefs.
The world is comprised of companies, which pay millions and
millions of dollars in advertising each year, using advertising
techniques to convince people to spend their money buying the
companys products or services. Advertising techniques include most if
not all propaganda techniques, and have been utilized since the dawn
of modern advertising in the 1920s. Edward Bernays, a pioneer in
advertising and propaganda, first introduced these techniques with
tobacco advertising. History tells us how successful those campaigns
were, During World War II; cigarette companies put free cigarettes in
American soldier's rations. With cigarette sales at an all-time high
companies were able to solidify loyal customers after they returned
home from the war (Vernellia, 1999).
Since then, advertising and propaganda have gone hand-andhand with the lines becoming so blurred, its hard to differentiate one
from another, thus making it harder to identify propaganda techniques
when they are being employed. I conducted research which depicts
how people blur those lines by exploring our reactions to propaganda.
Nine images were chosen, that contained both historic/iconic
propaganda images and modern advertisements/images using
propaganda techniques. I received nearly forty-five submissions from

Propaganda & Advertising

participants aging between 18-70 years old. Facebook was the primary
tool used to deploy the survey as well as a physical handout containing
the same survey. I used a qualitative research method to better
understand how we respond to propaganda images. I was able to
identify two categories based on the responses
received, which resulted as historical propaganda
and modern propaganda.
When showed an image of
Uncle Sam 85% of the
respondents positively
Figure 3, Uncle Sam,

http://galleryhip.com/uncle-sam-iwant-you.html

identified the image as

propaganda. This image of Uncle Sam was

created for propaganda purposes during WW1 era, used to recruit US
soldiers and has since become a historical icon of America.
When shown this iconic image of a Coca-Cola Advertisement of an
1900s style nurse, the same 85% of participants responded to the
image as propaganda. Both images are example of iconic/historic
propaganda used back in WW1-WW2 eras that is when most
Americans were introduced to propaganda techniques. Coca-Cola is
one of the longest standing companies who used these techniques still
today making them highly identifiable; however, when showed a
modern Coca-Cola advertisement, 55% responded that they believe it
to be propaganda. When given another modern advertising image of

Propaganda & Advertising 10

Jared from Subway, only half the respondents identified it as
propaganda. This is a common propaganda technique called Plain
Folk, the use of regular people to promote and endorse your products
or services. When comparing historic vs. modern propaganda images,
people

Figure 4, Coke Nurse,

http://www.bestmasterofscienceinnursing.c
om/10-vintage-coca-cola-ads-using-nursesto-sell-soda/

most commonly identify with

historic images. On average only 50% of the people who took the
survey can identify advertising propaganda, which means that leaves
50% that can not determine it when seen. The higher percentages on
average 85%, of the people can identify
historic or iconic propaganda.

Its concerning
Figure 5, Modern Coke,
http://imgarcade.com/1/modern-coca-colaadvertisement/

how easily people can

be swayed with propaganda in advertising; the

ability to think and act for oneself is jeopardized
by the need to influence consumers decisions.

Figure 6 I mean 6, Jared

Subway,
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/201408152059
02-57567806-7-propaganda-techniques-allstudents-should-learn

While statistically, based on my research findings, at least half the

people are unaware of the techniques used in advertising when they
are exposed to them. This explains why, in 2010 advertisers spent an
estimated $143 billion in the United States and $467 billion worldwide
on advertising (WPP, 2011). The motivation is astoundingly clear, if a
company can afford to spend that much on advertising, how much are
they making off their consumers. Propaganda techniques are very

Propaganda & Advertising 11

powerful tools, and when used in advertising are effective, which is
why they are still used by and large today. As consumers, its important
we think for ourselves and base our decisions on factual information by
researching and analyzing the information were given. Educating
yourself on the techniques advertisers use enables you to identify
them when they are being used thus giving you the tools you need to
make an informed decision.

Eskilson,S.(2007).Graphicdesign:Anewhistory(2nded.).NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress.

Jowett,G.,&Donnell,V.(2012).Propaganda&persuasion(5thed.,pp.1,2,1718,54122,299,).
California:SagePublications.

McClintock,Ann."PropagandaTechniquesinToday'sAdvertising."TheLongmandReader6thEd
(2003):n.pag.Abstract.PropagandaTechniquesinToday'sAdvertising(2003):30511.Print.
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JOHNSON,C.(2006,September17).CuttingThroughAdvertisingClutter.RetrievedJanuary20,2015,
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fromhttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/07/isismediamachinepropagandawar

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Images:
Rockwell
https://lh5.ggpht.com/QcvRhXfDBLevKbRGL1SopTq0izNyHL690dw_eZC89gknJVZ8h1HPE6ctxpWVG2Ji_eH=s85
Chamberlin's Work
https://lh6.ggpht.com/PUuHiSUpZXv6P6Z2la7unSmSrBTBeTFcaKVcERMYmILl55mq2yIQ0eHSRRDYJBftASIbw=s130
Nurse Coke Ad
http://www.bestmasterofscienceinnursing.com/10-vintage-coca-cola-ads-usingnurses-to-sell-soda/
Uncle Sam
http://galleryhip.com/uncle-sam-i-want-you.html
Jared Subway
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140815205902-57567806-7-propagandatechniques-all-students-should-learn/.%20com
Modern Coke
http://imgarcade.com/1/modern-coca-cola-advertisement/