Below are a few commonly used propaganda techniques used in everyday advertising. For even more techniques, check out Mainstream Media's Style Guide of Propaganda Techniques.
For a .pdf of the below list click here:
“Name Calling”, or Negative Comparison:
Suggesting one product is better by putting the competition down, ex: Pepsi vs. Coke.
"Keeping up with the Jones' ", or Status Symbol:
A product, usually an otherwise unnecessary item, made to seem completely necessary because everyone else has it. How have you lived until now without "X"? He has it, she has it, even yo' mama's dog has it. What about you? Do you have "X”?... Don't be caught without "X"..., etc...
"Mo' Better":
An old product made to seem "New and Improved!", ex. "Super-Fabulous-Wetter Water - now with Extra h2o!".
Testimonial:
"Real people" talking directly into the camera about their "real-life" experiences (how "X" changed their lives for the better/worse). "Before I discovered "X", my life was a mess...". Testimonials feel like candid, intimate advise from real people, rather than deliberate hard-sell from advertising marketers.
Card Stacking:
Listing tons of virtues about a product to convince the viewer just HOW good "X" is. This technique can also be done in the negative.
"Knight in Shining Armor", or Fear Tactic:
Like in the Truth.com campaign, the Fear technique begins with "card stacking" the evils of the tobacco industry, detailing statistics of cigarette smoking, all the ways the tobacco industry lies to us...essentially building a heightened sense of fear in the viewer, THEN, when the audience is sufficiently vulnerable or frightened, come to the rescue with a solution.
ex. "You've just heard the truth [fear]. Now go to Truth.com [solution]". "Most vacuum cleaners clog up and loose suction...leaving billions of dust mites behind! [fear] - All that is, Except Dyson [solution]".
Nostalgia/Escape:
Appeals our longing for a kinder, gentler time (old timey country lanes... when life was oh so simple...) Pepperidge Farm Cookies [sweet old man driving a horse drawn carriage], Country Time Lemonade [two old geezers on rocking chairs on a country porch, drinking lemonade, passing the time]. This technique invokes a deep sense of longing for a bygone era - therefore suggesting we can bring that time back if we had the product. This technique can also be used to invoke relaxation, escape... "Come to Jamaica and feel alright...", "Calgon [bath salts], Take Me Away..."
Sex/Appetite:
Appeals to the viewer's primal instincts for sex and food. Jessica Simpson's Pizza Hut Poppers [Jessica "popping" out of skimpy T-shirt and shorts associated with pizza hut's new "pizza poppers", or, Axe Cologne campaign, "How The Dirty Boys Get Clean...".
Celebrity Association:
Michael Jordan wears Nike, so you can be just as fly if you wore his shoes.
Lifestyle / Vibe / Aura / Attitude:
Selling a lifestyle or vibe that seems cool or ideal. IKEA, the GAP. Nike's "Just Do It".
Honest Every Man Approach:
Everyday, ordinary people (just like you) using a particular product. iPod silhouette campaign (plug your own face on that silhouette). Volkswagen (literally, "wagon for the people". Their commercials tend to be "family friendly", featuring plotlines about people who care about their families' safety while driving.
Jingle/Slogan:
Using catchy music or memorable tag line. "Got Milk?", "AFLAC !", "Can you hear me now?", or Yahoo's "Yaaaa hoooooo eee oooo~"
Humor/Awe Inspiring:
Creating a narrative that becomes so memorable by the concept, storytelling, and/or sheer gorgeousness of production value. Ridley Scott's commercial for MacIntosh invoking George Orwell's "1984". worth youtubing if you've never seen it.
Voice of Reason/Authority:
Usually as voice-over, but not necessarily. Trustworthy voice assures us that we should trust whatever they are saying.
Some examples of propaganda techniques in action:
Truth in Advertising:
http://youtu.be/Go_VtqtxCHY
George Clooney Gets Married:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfrt2L09PpM
Think Before You Post:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w4_Hrwh2XI
http://youtu.be/1afM6W1Tj1s
MTV "Shot" AIDS PSA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4ZBzMOV9Js
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