In the article “Propaganda Techniques in Today’s Advertising,” Ann McClintock argues that advertising has controlled our minds. She explains that people got brain washed because of the advertising on TV, Radio, Magazines, and much more. We let these advertisements keep coming to our home. We absorb their messages and images into our inner minds without any conscious. All these advertisements are using propaganda methods to persuade the people to buy their products or vote for any political man. She explains propaganda as a way to influence people’s opinion and make them believe in the advertisement and accept it.
Also, some of the advertisement could be lies or illusions, but it’s whole purpose to make the buyers believe in their products. She mentioned that some people don’t care about the word propaganda because they think it’s a foreign word or it used in political arena, but propaganda is about advertisement in everything and we see that advertisement every day on internet pops out every time. McClintock said that there were studies showed that in the average day most of people exposed to five hundred advertisements.
In addition, she explains how propaganda works by using seven techniques which are Name Calling, Glittering Generalities, … and so on. And all those techniques work on our emotion not on our minds and that’s why those advertisements benefit the producers more than consumers. In the end, I agree with McClintock that there are more benefits for producers more than consumer. However, there will be some people who will argue that some advertisements benefit the consumer more than the producer for example non-smoker and don’t drink and drive ads.
These ads benefit the consumer more than the producer, and also medicine ads. There are some ads will benefit both, and we can’t deny that for example can insurance, furniture, and house accessories. And that’s right because some of our products that we use it most of the time; we bought it by reading their products or seeing them in the street, websites, and TV. But most of the advertisements in these days lies to persuade the consumer to buy their product better than benefit from it. One of the ads that benefits the producer more than the consumer is gaming ads.
Most of the gaming ads in these days show a lot of lies that get discovered after people buy the game or the product for example, there is a recent game called Star Wars battle front, the ads start with a famous Star Wars sound track, show regular people get disappeared from everywhere, schools, shops, and homes. They disappear with smile or by saying some sentence that related to the movie Star Wars, then it shows you one famous actor who say a famous line and get disappeared, and then they all showed in the game.
Then the footage for the game started with actions and a lot of fights and great battles scenes on foot and in the air. Also, the ad shows a famous character from the movie Star Wars like sky walker and Darthvader. At the end, the ad gives the logo of the game with Star Wars sentence and then buy your copy right now, people are joining the fight why don’t you. The propaganda techniques that are being used in this ad is “Glittering Generalities” because they are using famous quotes from the movie Star Wars that make us, gamers, get excited to look forward to buy the game.
Another technique that have been used is Testimonial which they show in the ad a famous actor that saying a famous quote for Star Wars fan. And another technique that have been used is Card stacking which they showed a lot of footage and words that are half true when we buy the game. Final technique is bandwagon because at the end of the trailer they said a lot of people are buying this game why don’t you. All these techniques that have been showed in the advertisement make the gamers get excited to buy the game and preorder the game because of the music, the actor, the famous quotes, and action scenes.
So these techniques are benefit the producers better than the consumer because when you buy the game and play it. We notice that most of the scenes in the ad didn’t exist. And the battle scenes that show a lot of people having incredible fights are not that excitied. The fights in the sky is not like what we saw in the trailer. Also, some of the maps in the ad it’s not included in the main game, we have to pay more money to have it. At the end, all these reasons make the producers benefits even more than the consumer.
The second ad that benefit the producer more than the consumer is drinking ads. For example, thirsty beer ad which shows us a guy sitting on the beach alone drinking beer after beer and listening to old country music. He keeps drinking, until the last bottle then a beautiful lady walks out of the sea wearing bikini that almost show everything of her body. She goes directly to him, take his hat and his beer. While she is drinking, some drops of beer fall over her body. Then she sits on the guy lap and kiss him. At the end, the girl says “Never Hungry, Stay thirsty. The propaganda that is being used in this ad is Glittering Generalities and Transfer because it used a nice music matches with the ad and also the phrase that said at the end of the ad make you feel thirsty and want to have a beer; also, the producers used a country song which catch people’s attention especially old people because that was their type of songs. Now this ad benefits the producer more than the consumer because alcohol have a lot of side effect on human being specially on his/ her kidney, heart, and hormones.
Also, in Joyce Garity article “is sex all matter” (756). When young Elaine reading magazines and sees those half naked models getting what they want or living the perfect life; made Elaine to be one of them to have the perfect life. All these ideas can effect on the human brain sexually and physically. Drinking making us do stupid things for example car accidents, killing, … etc. Also. Drinking will not make us attractive to the other sex; however, it will make the other sex stay away specially if you are drunk or your breath of your mouth stink.
At the end, drinking has better benefits for producer more than consumer. Final ad that benefits the producer more than consumer is the fast food ads. Most of the fast food ads are funny and some of them using sexual influence to make people get excited to buy a meal. For example, Carlos Junior ad which shows a blond girl holding a big sandwich. That sand witch is well organized with big hamburger, tomato, latus, bacon, onion, and cheese. The blond woman is beautiful and wearing sexy clothes with a tiny T-Shirt and tiny short.
Also, there is an eagle symbol on her chest. And the last sentence is Eat for Freedom. The techniques that are being used in this advertisement are Glittering Generalities and tr sfer because they used attractive words to catch people’s attention by using the words freedom. And also, they used the eagle which represent a respectful symbol for American people. All these words and symbols make people want to buy that sand witch without thinking about the consequences. First when they receive the sand witch it’s not well organized as the advertisement showed so it’s a lie.
And sometimes the ad says that it has less calories so it’s healthy. Just like in the article of Joan Dunayer’s “Here’s to your health” (722). When she talks about an ad that has two mean sitting on the table and drinking saying to your health. That kind of ideas have a wrong delivered message to people for example, drinking is good to your health, but it’s wrong because it has side effects. And that’s also in fast food products; it is not good for our health. Most of the fast food restaurant used preservatives to make the sandwich to make it last for another day.
And that’s not healthy because it causes heart diseases and many side effects on the stomach. So these kind of advertisement benefits the producer more than the consumer and nobody fights these false advertisements because people don’t think about the consequence of getting diseases. In the end, we need to pay more attention on the advertisements and think before buying their products. Because if we are not going to do that, the producers will have the advantage to give us more false ads to benefit their products more than benefit us because they want money.
There is no runaway from advertisement because they are everywhere, but all we need to do is focus on the products that benefit us or benefit both side and don’t fall into the false advertisement traps. In addition, McClintock was right that we don’t have any privacy in our lives because it’s full with people who advertise their products every day and sell it to us. Finally, we need to read more about some products that can cause side effects and disease on our bodies, so we can prevent our self from harm. And also we need to fight those false advertisements that don’t benefit us at all, instead it hurts us physically and mentally.
