What is Advertising? - A form of communication intended to encourage or persuade its audience to continue with or to take some new action. And then there's political and ideological Advertising! Read on...
The techniques used in both Advertising and Propaganda are principally the same - the major difference is what the purveyor wants the outcome to be, or is it? Advertising is aimed at persuading its audience to buy products or services, or subscribe to a particular lifestyle, cause or belief - Propaganda, on the other hand, is perceived to have a more subversive aim, carried out in support of a narrow political, religious or ideological cause or belief.
In either case the ultimate aim is to encourage, influence or persuade an audience to carry out some kind of action, or subscribe to some kind of cause or belief. Both are disseminated through channels of mass communication to promote the adoption of goods, services, a person or group, or ideas.
Is this Advertising? Propaganda? Or both?
Ostensibly, its an ad for the Russia Today news channel, but the propagandist overtones are clear for all to see.
In the words of Josef Goebbels, Reich Minister of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda (Volksaufklärung und Propaganda) "It is not propaganda's task to be intelligent, its task is to lead to success." Is this not also true of Advertising? Where can we draw the line between Advertising and Propaganda? If we can draw a line at all!
In a quote attributed to Howard Gossage, by David Ogilvy, it states "Advertising justifies its existence when used in the public interest - it is much too powerful a tool to use solely for commercial purposes." This form of Advertising is better known as Public Service Advertising - and was used extensively, by both sides, throughout the First and Second World Wars!
Psychological manipulation...
Currently running on UK TV channels is this government "ad" showing a sleeping baby in a room, whilst his/her mother is standing at an open door, smoking a cigarette and blowing the smoke outside.
This is effective psychological manipulation, designed to instill a feeling of guilt about smoking, especially around young children.
This form of psychological manipulation or social influence is not underhand nor unduly coercive, but it certainly walks that narrow line between what is acceptable social influence, and what is considered to be underhanded manipulation. It is however, a classic example of government manipulation through the use of mass communication.
Political and Ideological Advertising...
Where Propaganda is intended to encourage or persuade its audience to think or behave in a particular manner, the same can be said of Political Advertising. Above, is the well known billboard created by Saatchi & Saatchi, for the 1979 Conservative party election campaign. Margaret Thatcher's Conservative party was voted in, heavily defeating the Labour party.
The billboard, along with associated Advertising (or should that be Propaganda) campaigns, clearly had an effect on the way people perceived the Labour party, and clearly manipulated their decision making when it came to voting. So is this really Advertising? Or just a thinly veiled excuse for Propaganda.
Here's a hijacked version of the billboard, at the 2009 G20 Summit in London, where demonstrators protested against the ideology of fundamentalist capitalism! One of the gurus of such capitalism was of course Milton Friedman, who in turn inspired Margaret Thatcher's economic reforms of the 1980s.
Religious and Non-Religious Advertising...
Religious Advertising such as this, found on the side of buses...
spawned this, by the atheist group the British Humanist Association...
which in turn spawned this hijacked version, by The Christian Party!
The British Humanist Association also managed to come up with this billboard for the 2011 UK census! Bless them!
Propaganda?
Finally, let's consider this now well known poster from World War 2.
Propaganda or not?
Well it was number three in a series of three. The other two carried the following messages:
"Freedom Is In Peril. Defend It With All Your Might."
"Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory"
I think that clearly answers the question. Yes! It was Propaganda!
The posters were produced by the Ministry of Information (MOI), whose main functions were: news and press censorship; home publicity; and oversees publicity in Allied and neutral countries.
www.zkidoo.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment