Propaganda Techniques

PROPAGANDA- a piece of writing tries to persuade you

to think or feel a certain way, it is called propaganda. Sales talk and political speeches are obvious examples of propaganda aimed to persuading you to buy a product or vote for a certain candidate.

As an intelligent reader and listener, you should not believe everything you read, see, and hear. You must learn to examine what is presented to you and ask yourself if it is true.

TYPES:1. Bandwagon- persuades people to do something by telling them that others are doing it. You are led to “join others” without questioning the wisdom of the idea.2. Testimonial- it uses famous persons to recommend a product or idea. You are not expected to look into the qualities of the person or things in the advertisement. You are expected to buy the product or adapt idea because of the prestige of the celebrity endorsing it.

3. Transfer- it relates a person, idea, or thing to others that have proved to be good or beneficial. When you are persuade to smoke cigarettes because the cowboy shown smoking in the commercial is rugged and macho is propaganda by transfer.

4. Emotional words- it uses words that will make the reader feel strongly about someone or something. It usually appeals to sympathy, or the use of guilt feelings to persuade.

5. Card stacking- manipulating or withholding relevant information about a product, person, or idea is called card stacking. It can be seen in “lab tests” and so called statistics to prove that their product is better than others.

AGREEMENT:

Cut out 1 magazine ad and paste it on you notebook. Select 1 radio and 1 tv advertisement.

Analyze the ads you have

selected using the form given. Fill out one form every

advertisement.