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Propaganda ART113/ART56 HISTORY OF GRAPHIC DESIGN

common persuasion techniques used in propaganda and commercial advertising

Propaganda: Information, esp. of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political, religious, or sociological cause or point of view.

from Wikipedia: Propaganda is a form of communication aimed towards influencing the attitude of the community toward some cause or position. Propaganda statements may be partly false and partly true. Propaganda is usually repeated and dispersed over a wide variety of media in order to create the chosen result in audience attitudes.

As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda, in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence and persuade an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus possibly lying by omission) to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result is a change of the attitude toward the subject in the target audience to further a political, religious or social agenda. Propaganda can be used as a form of ideological warfare…and can refer to uses that are generally benign or innocuous, such as public health recommendations, signs encouraging citizens to participate in a census or election, or messages encouraging persons to report crimes to law enforcement, among others.

The difference between “propaganda” and “advertising”:

It can be very difficult to discern the difference between “propaganda” and “advertising”. Both propaganda and commercial advertising can utilize the same persuasion tactics and share similarities in definition and motivation. Not all persuasive advertising is propaganda, but all propaganda is persuasive advertising. While there may be little difference in intention between the two, there may be, at least, a difference in application:

Propaganda is a form of communication aimed towards influencing the attitude of a person or community toward some political, religious, or sociological cause or position, a point of view, an idea, a belief. Usually implemented by political, cultural, and ethnic groups and organizations. Leads to synthesis/integration of an ideology.

Advertising is, in general, communication used to promote commercial goods and services, and attempts to influence the attitude of a person or community to convert an existing general need into a specific want or desire. Used/implemented by companies and businesses, generally for profit. Leads to an increase in sales.

However, there is plenty of overlap, and, in my opinion, the line between the two is most certainly blurred, especially when addressing contemporary advertising…

…Much of the commercial communication we are exposed to utilizes the promotion of not just products and services that we purchase, but more general cultural beliefs, ideas, and sociological points of view… call it an “ideological umbrella”. The advertisements’ main focus is to create or establish a “lifestyle” or belief system associated with the product, or to form a connection to a common and familiar cultural line of reasoning, often that has no direct connection to the product or service itself… the superimposition of a particular way of thinking or way of living, usually with positive connotations. This ‘lifestyle” or belief system is often the impetus for the product itself.

This doesn’t make it propaganda per say. Advertisers may use ideals, political or sociological causes, or beliefs to get people to purchase their product, but the (end) goal is really to sell the product. The idea that commercial advertising is fact based, and only attempts to get you to purchase something is, however, an oversimplification.

One really should wonder about the level of these kinds of (often fabricated) sets of ideals and beliefs and the standards that they impose, and the way that companies in turn rely on those standards to sell their products and make a profit. It can very often be the case that in the advertisements, the ideas or beliefs are highlighted to a far greater extent and have far greater significance than the practical reasons for purchasing the product or service.

(See the ads for Whole Foods and Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, and especially the ad for Nike, in the following slideshow for good examples of commercial advertising that should be considered social propaganda.)

Common persuasion techniques often used in both propaganda campaigns and commercial advertising:

1. Loaded words / Loaded images 2. Glittering Generalities

3. Bandwagon 4. Name Calling

5. Fear 6. Transfer

7. Plain Folks 8. Testimonial

9. Card Stacking

These techniques can be used individually but are most often used in combination for greater effect. All the examples in

this guide utilize multiple persuasion tactics.

*students may not select any of the images used in this presentation as their choice for this assignment

1. LOADED WORDS / LOADED IMAGES

Loaded words / Loaded images: ! Emotionally charged

words or images that will make you feel strongly about something or someone.

! Words and images can be used individually, or, most often, together.

! Can be positive or negative.

! Almost always present in propaganda.

A straightforward example of loaded words and images, the most common technique used in propaganda. The bold type “help me” is an emotionally charged call for aid. The anthropo- morphization of the (seemingly) distressed tiger cub (“help me!”) creates a human emotion in the animal that is then transferred (see Transfer technique) to the viewer. The other important loaded words also clearly highlighted in bold text are “all children”, and “Don’t”. This ad clearly targets children, and the simple, easy to read text and powerful image of a baby animal is a message that would appeal to a younger viewer.

Loaded words / Loaded images

With propaganda, it’s important to be able to read between the lines and identify the subliminal messages communicated, not simply through words and images, but through specific design techniques as well, which play an indirect role in communicating the desired feeling to the audience.

Loaded words and images can be loaded not just for what they say or show, but how they look. Note the color choices here… the use of black and yellow visually implies danger; a warning, a threat (can be considered the “Fear” tactic as well as loaded words/images). Red is also an emotionally charged color, and it can imply violence/danger, esp. when used with black.

The rough, “destroyed” textures throughout the design also imply a sense of violence and danger…which help to make these words and images “loaded”.

Loaded words / Loaded images

What are the specific loaded words/images?

What emotions do they make you feel?

Who is the target audience?

What is the underlying message?

How do the font styles, colors, subtext, background colors, props and photography techniques emphasize the persuasion technique?

Is this advertisement effective? Why or why not?

Ask yourself these questions:

Loaded words / Loaded images

2. GLITTERING GENERALITIES

Glittering Generalities:

! Glittering generalities are loaded words, but are specifically happy, positive, “feel-good” words or slogans. Often vague, generalized, and ambiguous.

! The strength of the glittering generality often relies on its ambiguity, and thus can be processed and defined differently by different people, affecting a larger audience.

-The glittering generality here is the slogan “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN”, and specifically the word “great”… a vague, feel-good word that illicites a positive emotion in the viewer.

From Wiki: A glittering generality has two qualities: it is vague and it has positive connotations. Words and phrases such as “common good”, “courage”, “freedom”, “hope”… are terms on which people all over the world have powerful associations, and they may have trouble disagreeing with them. However, these words are highly abstract and ambiguous, and meaningful differences exist

regarding what they actually mean or should mean in the real world.

-The power of glittering generalities lies in their ambiguity. “Great” can mean many different things to many different people. Since “great” is unspecific, the effectiveness of the propaganda is

dependent on the individual. “Great” is whatever you imagine it to be. Nothing is clearly defined. Effectively, it makes the viewer do all of the work, and the message reaches a broader audience.

Glittering Generalities

- What are the glittering generalities?

- What emotions do they make you feel?

- Who is the target audience?

- What is the underlying message?

- How do the font styles, colors, subtext, background colors, props and photography techniques emphasize the propaganda technique?

- Is this advertisement effective? Why or why not?

Ask yourself these questions:

Glittering Generalities

“Defy the negative effects of time with the help of South Jersey’s newest, most advanced – and best – practice in the fields of plastic and reconstructive surgery. We offer state-of-the-art

facilities, the most advanced surgical techniques, superior outcomes and the ultimate in patient-centered concierge care.”

Glittering Generalities… and good example of the incredibly blurred lines between sociopolitical propaganda and commercial advertising. This is commercial advertising (an ad for a product or service), yes…but it’s also social propaganda.

The line between traditional propaganda and commercial advertising is perhaps at a point of non-existence. “Conspicuous Consumption” no longer pertains only to achieving status and class through the accumulation of consumer goods, but status and class in terms of a particular social or political sentiment or position.

“This practice merges consumer behavior with political or social goals. Whether challenging police brutality or questioning unattainable beauty norms, branding in our era has extended beyond a business model: It is now both reliant on and reflective of our most basic social and cultural relations… individual consumers act politically by purchasing particular brands over others in a competitive marketplace, where specific brands are attached to political aims and goals”. - Sarah Banet-Weiser, “Commodity Activism”

Glittering Generalities

3. BANDWAGON

Bandwagon:

! An appeal to be, or the security of being, part of a larger group.

! “Everyone is doing it, you should too.”

Bandwagon

-Ultra-famous poster and excellent example of a powerful bandwagon slogan designed by J. Howard Miller in 1942 as a way to boost worker morale as women entered the defense work force in the US during WWII.

-Interestingly, the “Rosie the Riveter” poster wasn’t well known at all or even widely distributed during the war… it wasn’t until the feminist movement of the 1980s when the image was re- appropriated and has since become used as a symbol of feminism and women’s economic power.

Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign can be seen as similar example of the effectiveness of bandwagon slogans.

- Who is the target audience?

- What evidence suggests this?

- What is the underlying message?

- What elements are used to suggest that the audience should join this bandwagon and accept the information?

- Examine font styles, colors, language and page layout. What do they suggest about the message, and how do they strengthen the power of the Bandwagon technique?

- Is this propaganda effective? Why or why not?

Ask yourself these questions:

Bandwagon

4. Name Calling

Name Calling:

! Words or images, often vague, used to incite fears and arouse prejudices in the viewers with the idea that the bad names will cause people to construct a negative opinion about a person, group, or product.

! “Trash-talking”

! Often used in political advertising, e.g. “mudslinging”.

Name Calling

Classic poor-quality “mudslinging” ad produced by one presidential candidate and name-calling an opponent. None of the negative words here are specific. Nowhere

does it define what a “Washington Insider” is, or how he can’t be trusted. The horizontal red slash adds a menacing, threatening tone, as does the washed-out gray

background, and the quizzical expression subliminally adds to the negative perception of the candidate’s opponent as untrustworthy.

- Who is the target audience?

- What evidence suggests this?

- What is the underlying message?

- What is this fight about, and what do you think is the position of the producers of this ad?

- Which specific elements of the design indicate this as an example of Name Calling propaganda?

- Is this advertisement effective? Why or why not?

Ask yourself these questions:

Name Calling

4. Fear

Fear:

! Words and images that play on deep-seated fears; saying disaster will result if you do not follow a particular course of action.

! Essentially, like Glittering Generalities, a sub- category of “Loaded words / Loaded images” – with fear being the specific motive force.

Fear

-A prime example of hard- hitting, fear-based propaganda. The use of loaded words and images is clear, but it’s the emotion of fear – not of death, but of a slow, prolonged painful suffering - that drives the message home in the minds of smokers. “Dying…never painless…stroke…suffer every minute…” the copy and chillingly graphic image are unambiguous and unflinchingly realistic.

- note the use of yellow type against the black background. Yellow and black is a color combination that subliminally communicates danger. Smart designers use this to their benefit.

- Who is the target audience?

- What evidence suggests this?

- What is the underlying message

- What specific elements are used to produce fear in the mind of the viewer?

- How do the font styles, colors, subtext, background colors, props and photography techniques emphasize the persuasion technique?

- Is this advertisement effective? Why or why not?

Ask yourself these questions:

Fear

5. Transfer

Transfer:

! The attempt or appeal to link (transfer), often through visual clues, the sentiment or feelings towards one thing onto something (a product or idea) or someone else (or the viewer).

! Can be used positively or negatively.

! also called “Association”.

Transfer

-The transfer technique is an attempt to make the subject view a certain item in the same way as they view another item, to link the two in the subject’s mind. Transfer evokes an emotional response, is often highly visual, and utilizes symbols superimposed over other visual images.

-Good example here in the realm of commercial advertising … the handsome yet rugged, macho image of the “Marlboro Man”. “Smoke Marlboros, and this is the man you’ll be” is what this persuasion technique is suggesting through very specific and symbolic imagery.

-Who is the target audience? What evidence suggests this?

-What is this advertisement suggesting about the product?

-What is the tone of this image? Positive? Negative? How can you tell?

-How does the image choice create a feeling that can be transferred to the product?

-What other observations do you have about the way Transfer propaganda is used in this advertisement?

Ask yourself these questions:

Transfer

Another ad for a commercial product, so not technically propaganda… but it does skirt the line between the two - if not cross it, in it’s attempt to transfer feelings of patriotism for America and

establish an idea of what it means to be a “real American”… and thus could be considered a form of social propaganda. In a positive context, this technique is also called ”virtue by association”.

6. Plain Folks

Plain Folks:

! Convincing the audience that a person, product, company, or idea is associated with normal, everyday people and activities. )

! Commonly appeals to regular people and their values such as health, family and patriotism.

! “We’re just like you”.

! Often combined with “Testimonial”, when using non-celebrities.

Plain folks

Plain Folks persuasion targets the general public and often taps into or expresses positive sentiments about life in general. This is an example of Plain Folks as well as the Testimonial

persuasion tactic, among others. Unfortunately, most of the "plain folks" in ads are actually paid actors carefully selected because they look like "regular people.” Highly doubtful that this

statement was made by this person.

-Who is the target audience? What evidence suggests this?

-What is the subtext or underlying message of this ad?

-What kind of lifestyle is presented? How?

-Examine the image, font styles, colors, language and page layout. What do they suggest?

-Do you relate to this message because you can relate to the ?

Ask yourself these questions:

Plain folks

This is a commercial advertisement (for a product) but one that, like the

Whole Foods Ads, can also be seen as social propaganda in its attempt to

make a statement about healthy eating, and how we should live.

Plain Folks

7. Testimonial

Testimonial:

! An attempt to persuade the reader by using a famous person to endorse a product or idea (for instance, the celebrity endorsement).

! A personal statement or quote by an individual included in an ad or message.

Testimonial

Testimonial persuasion usually features a celebrity endorsing a product, cause, or ideology (often with a personal statement or story), but more generally they can be any communication where someone, like a former customer, relates their personal experience in order to help sell or endorse something or someone. Quotes and signatures are often present but not required.

-Who is the target audience?

-What evidence suggests this?

-Who is the famous person?

-How does the endorsement by this person make the product seem like it is worth the purchase?

-Should we regard this person as an expert or trust their testimony? Why?

-Is there merit to the idea or product without the testimony?

Ask yourself these questions:

Testimonial

8. Card Stacking

Card Stacking:

! Deliberately providing a one-sided context to give a misleading impression. It "stacks the deck,” carefully using only those facts (often true) that support one side of the story.

! Presenting selective information in order to achieve a desired result and omitting any information or relevant facts contrary to it.

Card Stacking

Also called “semantic slanting”, Card Stacking persuades the viewer through meticulously selective text and imagery.

Nowhere in this ad does it say how the vaccine works, or any possible side effects. Card Stacking techniques rely on loaded words and images to stack the deck in favor one product or idea over another.

There’s not a lot of specific information in this ad, but many examples of Card Stacking are loaded with vague, out-of-context “data” in an attempt to support one side of a story.

-Who is the target audience?

-What evidence suggests this?

-Are facts being distorted or omitted? Is there another side to the story?

-What other arguments exist to support an opposing conclusion?

-How do the font styles, colors, subtext, image and photography techniques emphasize the propaganda technique?

-Is this advertisement effective? Why? Why not?

Ask yourself these questions:

Card Stacking