The average American is exposed to as many as 5,000 advertisements daily.
Propaganda techniques are commonly encountered in commercial advertising but these techniques, or variations of them, are used by political campaigns and nearly every other organization that needs to persuade the public. The five techniques are known as bandwagon, testimonial, transfer, repetition and emotional words.
Bandwagon
The bandwagon technique seeks to convince people that "everyone" is doing something, or likes something and you should too. This method plays on an individual's need for social acceptance. One example of this is seen in political rallies with large cheering crowds, waving flags and cheering or booing in unison. In advertising it is common. Examples include a 1959 Elvis Presley album titled "50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong: Elvis' Golden Records, Vol. 2" and any TV programs that claims to be "the show America is talking about."
Testimonial
Testimonials use people to persuade other people of the value or importance of something. This is most frequently done with celebrity endorsements but it is also done with experts or average people. In politics, this can be as simple as having the president or another popular political leader endorse an idea or point of view. In advertising, examples include Jenny Craig having celebrities talk about their diet plans in commercials and any advertisement that uses a doctor or someone dressed as a doctor to say something is healthy.
Transfer
The transfer technique involves using symbolism to give virtues to a product or idea. This is sometimes done with celebrities, such as putting athletes on a Wheaties box or putting Michael Jordan's name on sneakers. Sometimes placing, for example, an American flag next to a product can convince people that it is somehow patriotic. Products also might be placed in a hospital setting to give the impression that a product is healthy or somehow endorsed by medical workers. This type of propaganda is most frequently found in print advertising
Repetition
Repetition is the most frequently used propaganda and advertising technique. Repetition works under the assumption that the more often people hear something the more likely they are to believe it, even on a subconscious level. In politics this is known as "staying on message." A politician, during a campaign, speaks to different groups of people every day, but always includes the same handful of points that they wish to make. In advertising, it works basically the same way. An advertiser will attempt to convey the same handful of points about a product in all of their advertising including television, radio, print and digital.
Emotional Words
The emotional words technique uses strong language to attempt to persuade people. This can mean an impassioned speech but relates more often to key words that trigger emotion in people. For example, putting the word "free" in an ad causes it to be looked at more closely even if the product is not free. Putting the word "important" or "urgent" at the top of a page will make people more likely to look at it. In politics this technique is used almost constantly. Referring to an idea as "left wing" or "right wing," "liberal" or "conservative" automatically triggers certain responses to the idea. Calling a foreign government a "regime" automatically implies certain attributes about that government.
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