How Companies Influence Your Thinking and Get You to Buy Their Products!

PROPAGANDAHow Companies Influence Your Thinking and Get

You to Buy Their Products!

Glittering Generalities

We use words that have vague meanings, hoping that you don’t think too hard about it and buy

our products.Dishwasher tablets claim they will give you “virtually

spotless dishes”○ Virtually means almost. Virtually spotless sounds nice but

if you think about it, do you want any spots on your dishes?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljxTrcPBeMk

Plain folks

We use down-home, old-fashion appeal to sell our products.

“Lemonade just like Grandma used to make”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsATVa3c6lc

Emotional Appeal

We target your fears, anger, pity, love, or sense of humor to sell our products.

“Send flowers to a certain someone today to show them you care.”

“Don’t be bullied into buying more than you need.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yotq4zr0dRc

Testimonial

Our product is endorsed by an expert or someone famous, so you should use it, too!

Hanes underwear hopes that you will buy their products because Michael Jordan wears them.

If I wear a TAG watch like Tiger Woods, I’ll be able to golf like him, right?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tglJAHHwO58

Scientific Approach

The data and statistics show that our product works!

“Reduces plaque by 92%”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ULR68LTmbw

Snob Appeal

We show people who are elegant, wealthy, intelligent, or who have good taste using our products. You want to be like them,

right? So, use our product!“When only the best will do”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDSuR1o5j6E

Bandwagon

Everyone else is using our product, so you should, too! Hop on the bandwagon!

McDonalds advertises that they have “Over 1 billion served.”

You don’t want to be left out of the 1 billion, do you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3BzR1FMDc4

Transfer

We group unrelated things for a stronger effect. They may not necessarily go together but we

hope you don’t think about that!McDonald’s Big Mac sandwiches are “thick and

juicy.” What does thick have to do with juicy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGgpPQvXUE0

Name-Calling

We blame problems on specific people, groups, or ideas. We insult our competitors. That

makes you want to buy our products, right?This is most often used in political ads.Think of the ads right now with Terri Lynn Land and

Gary Peters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE9U4mMqKP4

Card Stacking

We only talk about the great things about our product (or list them first), stacking the cards

in our favor. Our product is perfect, right?Think about prescription drug commercials. They tell

you all the good stuff about their drug and at the very end, in a super fast voiceover, you hear that the product has horrible side effects.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vu0rXFhsM8w

Infomercials

What propaganda techniques does this Oxiclean commercial

contain?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTpXh33Mbeg

Infomercials

What propaganda techniques does this

Hurricane Mop commercial contain?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKFz1C1AsDs

Infomercials

What propaganda techniques does this

Smart Mop commercial contain?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr6qaG8RlUk