American Propaganda

Following the United States’ entry into World War II and with national governments battling for the hearts and minds of the people, propaganda became an industry of war just as “important as producing bullets and planes.” In the words of Archibald MacLeish, assistant director of the Office of War Information and librarian of Congress, “The principal battleground of the war is not the South Pacific. It is not the Middle East. It is not England, or Norway, or the Russian Steppes. It is American opinion.” Thus, propaganda was the most effective resource in securing the American victory in World War II, as it caused an increase in

“The Language of Advertising” written by Charles A. O’Neill is an excerpt arguing as well as supporting popular criticisms against the advertising language by William Lutz, and other known criticisms of advertising. The concept of advertising is not something that has only been popular over the recent decades, but has been used as far back as the World Wars. The use of propaganda attracted thousands of eyes to the War, and without knowing it, created what we call today as typical advertising. After WWII many people with good reason, were concerned over the topic of scientific success, due to the recent usage of the Nuclear Bomb by the United States. Many giant American corporations started creating new materials, fabrics, vaccines and machines (the most important being plastic), thus creating a new wave of marketing. Now this process never stopped and has not stopped all throughout the past decades, our own, and the ones to come. But as newer, bigger and better products or services are created nobody really understands the power of how they marketed or advertised. Well “how does advertising work? Why is it so powerful? Why does it raise such concern? What case can be made for and against the advertising business?” (O’Neill 369). For you to understand the concept of advertising, Charles O’Neill makes it clear that you must first understand that it’s not about truth, virtue, or positive social values, but money. The most popular “tool” that advertisement creators use is that

Firstly, American propaganda was made initially to portray Germans in a negative light, to fuel the hatred between Americans and Germans. An example of this would be a picture of German soldiers roasting Belgium babies over a fire. German soldiers weren’t doing this but this picture was created to fuel their hatred. This was to demonstrate the German aggression that was being dealt with. Some more examples of propaganda would be all the signs that were put up, such as an Uncle Sam poster saying I want you or a poster telling you to buy a bond so that the military could fund war efforts.

"Propaganda was a huge tool used to sway citizens toward a particular political view. "The U.S.A. entered World War One in April 1917, but lost no time in producing many more propaganda posters than any other single nation. These encompassed recruitment to the various armed services, plus - frequently - the raising of war finance via

American propaganda during WWI was used to spread ideas and information for the purpose of helping the American cause, specifically through, songs, posters, pamphlets and leaflets. America joined the Allies forces in 1917 in Europe to fight against the Central Powers. The American government needed something to spark the peoples' interest in the war. The most effective tool the government found and used was propaganda. The American government used propaganda to reach out to the people. The government wanted to reach people of all ages. Similarly, Germany fought back with her own propaganda, by purposely dropping leaflets and pamphlets on the ground to try and convince American soldiers, especially blacks, to join their side. In my opinion

In the essay, “Propaganda Techniques in Today’s Advertising” by Anne McClintock, McClintock shows seven different ways that propaganda is used. One mostly used by advertisement today would be Glittering Generalities, using positive words to bring attraction to their product while concealing the actual meanings. They will use inspiring words that are very vague that the consumer would not really understand what the product would really do to benefit them but would be inspired to buy it anyways. Another technique mostly used would be Testimonial, were producers would pay celebrities to advertise their product for them since they have more fame than normal actors. Advertisement used today is targeted to make the consumer believe that what they are paying for is the real deal when it is only beneficial for the producers.

The government uses propaganda and the entertainment industry to influence public decision. They use these half truths to appeal to the human emotions to encourage others to support their cause and share their beliefs. Since using these tactics made serving in the armed forces more appealing to new recruits, during World War II the Government used propaganda and movie posters, as well as, war movies as a way to attract young men to join the armed forces. Advertising in this way made young men optimistic about protecting their country by serving in the war; because it portrayed war in a different way. Back then the Government believed a key factor for success during the war was to depict a nation free of chaos that would create division during that time.

The United States government has historically used propaganda to entice, encourage, and even shame a person into enlisting in to the uniformed services and/or supporting the war effort. The effective use of propaganda does not only affect the American public’s opinion of a war and its leaders, but also affects their commitment to the war effort. Ineffective use (or lack of) of propaganda can lead to resentment and undermine public trust in its leaders and their ability to lead the nation. This essay will show how the use of media has either supported or hindered the effective use of governmental propaganda in influencing the American public during times of war and why is it sometimes not important to know what is the “whole truth.” The areas that will be covered will be the propaganda used during the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, World War I-II, the Cold War/Vietnam, and also it’s affect on public opinion.

As already mentioned, the United States readily took part in the propaganda parley of World War II. The threat of subversive Nazi propaganda on U.S. soil caused private citizens to use their contacts to pressure the government into counteracting the “attack on democracy” (Laurie 30-32). This spurred the creation of government organizations such as the U.S. Office of the Coordinator of Information (COI) and the U.S. Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The role of these organizations was to oversee the propaganda released on behalf of the government (Laurie 45). The military naturally became involved in the creation and implementation of propaganda films to promote anti-Nazi feelings across a nation immersed in a global war. Also, the hope was that these films would act as a morale booster necessary in a nation that had just experienced the horrors of Pearl Harbor (Fyne 12).

5 Name the propaganda. Check out the "7 Highly Effective Habits of Effective Propaganda," which one most applies to this ad? Why and how does it apply?(if you can't find propaganda, then find another

For many years we have seen advertisements on TV, billboards, and even magazines that try to persuade us to buy a certain product. Many of these advertisements try different methods of connecting with the audience. Most of these advertisement are successful into making us fall into traps, that make us somehow end up buying the product, or service they are implying on us. In the the article "Propaganda Techniques in Today's Advertising" by Ann McClintock, Ann provides evidence that we are targets of propaganda, and they we are victims of it everyday, she also claims that it shapes many of our opinions and decisions. Nike, Audi, and Honda have all used different methods of propaganda to try and influence the right audience.

Throughout all different forms of government persuasion, propaganda is one of the most effective and most commonly used methods. However, propaganda, especially during wartime, can have unintended consequences contrary to the original intentions of the propaganda piece. These unforeseen consequences can have long lasting effects on an entire population’s mindset. The racist and degrading artwork, imagery and words put out by the American government still have an effect on our culture today. Propagandists have three common goals in mind when they create their works; motivating soldiers to fight harder on the front lines, instilling hatred into the minds of the soldiers and those on the home front for the enemy, and encouraging those on the home front to help support the war effort through product manufacturing or money raising.

During World War II, propaganda was used for a number of reasons, it not only showed how anyond could be of use to the war efforts, but it also showed that every person could contribute as well. These posters empowered everyone to stand behind their nation's Army, and to continue contributing to the war efforts. The posters showed that everyone is needed, that anyone could make a difference, and some even emphasized certain values to those who are already helping with the war effort.

Both negative and positive, propaganda affects our lives daily sometimes without us even acknowledging that it exists. The main goal of propaganda is trying to sell your product or idea to other people, one major form of Propaganda occurs in the news. Propaganda is used for companies and trend setters who want to get their products and ideas out in the world so that they could potentially become popular. Smart propagandists discovered that to create the best propaganda, the viewer must not even realize that the product or idea is being sold to them. Propaganda creates an extremely large impact on us and is sometimes mistaken for being “just another advertisement” when they actually change the way we live our lives.

In advertisement, propaganda is all around. It is in newspaper articles, television ads, movies, and a plethora of other things. Propaganda is a type of advertisement that shows how good or how much better a product is that anything else in that department. “Advertisers lean heavily on propaganda to sell products, whether the “products” are a brand of toothpaste, a candidate for office, or a particular political viewpoint.” (The Longman Writer McClintock’s Essay Pg. 232). There are seven main types of propaganda, Name Calling, Glittering Generalities, Transfer, Testimonial, Plain Folks, Card Stacking, and Bandwagon. Since its first use, most people when they hear propaganda, think only about political ads but that is not all that propaganda is used for. “Although propaganda may seem relevant only in the political arena, the concept can be applied fruitfully to the way products and ideas are sold in advertising.” (The Longman Writer McClintock’s Essay Pg. 232) Two very good examples of using propaganda techniques are a State Farm commercial, and a Farmers advertisement. The State Farm ad is a beautifully done, two minute long commercial that is meant to pull on the heart string of the watcher with a technique such as Plain Folks. The farmers advertisement on the other hand is a think out of the box comical commercial that does not cause emotions to stir but instead makes up it up with a Testimonial. Both ads are very appealing to the eyes and don’t use attacks on another