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Journal of the Linguistic Association of Nigeria Volume 16 Nos. 1 & 2 2013 (pp. 63-72) A Linguistic Exploration of Propaganda in Advertising in Nigeria Wasiu Ademola Oyedokun-Alli, PhD Department of English & Literary Studies, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] Phone: 234 (0)803 916 2490/ 234 (0) 805 843 0092 Language is man’s major means of communication and social intercourse. It is also used to influence the behavioural patterns of others. This paper examines the use of propaganda in selected advertisements as “mind bending” contrivances. It claims that propaganda is used or spread to influence people in favour or against some doctrine or idea. The inference from the study is that propaganda is used through the instrumentality of language and cinematographic effects; the art of making the other man’s mind for him. The paper recommends that concise and proactive efforts should be made by the National Assembly, the National Judicial Council, the National Broadcasting Corporation and Advertising Practitioners’ Council of Nigeria (APCON) to stem the tide of making false or wild claims as a veil for propaganda. Introduction Language is an important arsenal through which humans communicate among themselves. It is the manifest use of language that distinguishes man from animals, when communication is in focus. This, undoubtedly, underscores Harold’s (1981), assertion, cited in Tonga (1997), that language is the “medium through which thoughts are conveyed from one person to another”. From the foregoing, one can conclude that language is used to achieve some ends: to inform; to entertain; to educate; to set matters in motion; to persuade; and to influence one another. This is the thrust of this paper. Propaganda, in this study, is viewed and understood as a seminal expression of opinion or information (especially prejudiced ones) “spread to influence people in favour of or against some doctrine or idea”, The New Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language (International Edition). In our fast paced world, language is an effective tool in socialization and social intercourse. Its deployment as a means of communication is intricately linked to the control of or influence on the human mind. Hence, the scope of this work: minds at work? The paper examines the deployment of language laced with propaganda to influence human mind in selected advertisements of products and services. Advertising: Nature, Scope and Functions Advertising, as a marketing strategy, is defined as “use of paid space in publication, for instance, or time on television, radio or cinema, usually as a means of persuading people to take a particular course of action, or to reach a point of view”, Osho (2001). Cooley (1961) defines advertising as “a mass, paid communication, the ultimate purpose of which is to impart information, develop attitude and induce action beneficial to the advertiser (generally for the sale of a product, service or idea)”. This line of reasoning is also toed by American Marketing Association (AMA, 1977), which sees it as “any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of goods, services or ideas by identified sponsors”. Oyedokun-Alli: Propaganda in Advertising in Nigeria 64 What is basic in all these is that advertising is a “basic tool” whose sole aim is “to build preferences for advertised brands or services”, (Doghuje, 1985). At this juncture, the questions may be asked, “what is persuasion and what persuasive techniques are available as a tool for propaganda in advertising? Persuasion, generally speaking, is a means of convincing people to buy certain products; to believe something or act in a certain way; and to agree with a point of view, (source: http://www.slideshare.net/LHghighi/common-persuasive-techniques-in-advertising). Lee and Lee (1985) identify six common persuasive techniques. These are discussed below: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) Bandwagon: a statement suggesting that everyone is using a particular product, so you should too! Repetition: the name of a product is repeated many times. Testimonial: a well-known person supports a product or service. Emotional appeal: a person is made to have strong feelings about a situation or product. Humour: makes people laugh. Rhetorical question: asks a question to produce an effect. No answer is expected. One can safely conclude, therefore, that the ultimate goal of most media managers is to persuade the audience to believe or do something. The media literacy project submits that: Hollywood movies use expensive, special effects to make us believe that what we’re seeing is real. News stories use several techniques, such as direct quotation or identified sources, to make us believe that the story is accurate. Persuaders use a variety of techniques to grab our attention, to establish credibility and trust, to stimulate desire for the product or policy and to motivate us to act (buy, vote, give money, etc.). These, generally, are referred to as ‘techniques’ or ‘language’ of persuasion. The Communicative Relevance of Propaganda The New Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language (international edition) defines propaganda as “information” and “opinion” (especially prejudiced ones) spread “to influence” against some doctrine or ideas; “the spreading of such information and opinions”. Curran and Curevitch (1997) cite the authority of Herman and Chomsky who, in their book, Manufacturing Consent: the Political Economy of the Mass Media (1988) argue that propaganda is an instrument by which capitalists use their economic power with a commercial market system to ensure that the flow of public information is “consonant with their interests”. They argue that “the powerful are able to fix the premises of discourse, to decide what the general populace is allowed to see, hear and think about; and to ‘manage’ public opinion by regular propaganda campaigns”, Herman and Chomsky (1988:IX). In this context, the deployment of language in the media as an arsenal of persuasion (or even deceit!) cannot be over-emphasized. It is the contention of O’ Sullivan, Dutton and Rayners (2003) that the media, generally, use “propaganda techniques” to manipulate “the minds of whole population; and that, in such a situation, the media have enormous political potentials. And of the many examples cited by the authors, one common inference is the “mind-bending” powers of the media as one which still “has considerable common currency”. 65 Oyedokun-Alli: Propaganda in Advertising in Nigeria One is inevitably drawn to the examples cited by O’ Sullivan, et al, (2003), Broekhuizen (1995), Curran and Gurenvitch (1997) and Arens and Bovee (1994) that there is a general consensus that some political contents in the media qualify as propaganda. O’ Sullivan, et al (2003) asserts that propaganda is “the conscious manipulation of information in order to gain political advantage”. However, in broad terms, propaganda is not limited to politics. Propaganda is also overtly used or deployed in product or service advertising. Owing to fierce competitions among commodity producers and service providers, a lot of gimmicks (as veiled propaganda) are used to “bend the minds” of the end-users of the products or services. In fact, Osho (2001) argues that the use of propaganda in advertising is inevitable and involves the “art of making up the other man’s mind for him”. It, therefore, becomes inevitable that individuals become vulnerable to the influence, whims and caprices of the advertiser/ propagandists. Propaganda in Advertising Osho (2001) highlights seven propaganda devices as enunciated by Lee and Lee (1987). They include: a) Name calling: this device is said to be the oldest as it attaches a bad name to the adversary and, of course a good name to the brand being promoted. Examples: “Gold leaf for good taste”, “Harp for happiness”, etc. b) Bandwagon: This device appeals to the individual to be on the popular side. Examples: “join the winning team, use addidas”, “come to Marlboro country”. c) Transfer: the speakers with the frame picture of a national hero behind him or the national flag on a staff by his side tries to channel the emotion aroused by these symbols towards the acceptance of his ideas. d) Card stalking: this devices shuffle lies, half truths, evasions, innuendos, overemphasis, understatements, all together like cards in a pack. If the truth is on any of the card dealt, it would take more than human power to discover it. e) Testimonial: here the pet device of the advertiser is used to sell ideas. A star in sports is used to promote sportswear and materials, or an accomplished academician (sic) is used to testify to the quality of a ball pen. f) Plain Folks: here the propagandist uses the homespun style by making it clear that he is just “one of the folks”, or so honest and free from guides. g) Glittering generalities: this technique matches broad ideals to particular situations in a high – sounding but hazy way which gains its effects even though it won’t withstand critical examination. Oyedokun-Alli: Propaganda in Advertising in Nigeria 66 These frontiers can be extended by considering such other factors as: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) Inbuilt biases, Accents of the broadcasters, Camera angles, Sexist stereotyping, Sexually seductive images, as a selling strategy. Purpose of study Despite the claim to the contrary, preliminary inquiries show that news items, editorial and (more importantly) advertising are not free from biases and mind – bending propaganda. In our fast paced world, the dissemination of information via the instrument of language is so central to human existence. Therefore, this study examines the deployment of language as an arsenal for propaganda and its effect on the end – users of the information. Research Objectives and Questions The study has the following objectives: (a) (b) (c) (d) To determine the use of language in selected advertising To determine whether the use of language is merely to inform, educate or entertain To ascertain propaganda contents in such information /advertising To assess devices used to reinforce the propaganda Specifically, the following questions were asked: (a) (b) (c) (d) Is the use of language in the data merely informative? Is the use language laced with propaganda? What linguistic features distinguish (a) from (b) above? What linguistic or extra – linguistic features are used to lace the information with propaganda? Corpus Materials These consist of four items, two each from (i) products and (ii) services as follows: (a) (b) (c) (d) Guinness advertising (product). MTN advertising (product). Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) slogan (services). Peoples Democratic Party political slogan (Services). Sampling Procedure These items were selected at random. They are common advertisements and political slogans in vogue. The use of language in these advertisements has special appeal to the mind; the appeal (to be determined in our analysis) was categorized into two, informative and propaganda. However, notwithstanding the randomness of our corpus materials, the choice of these products and services has been made to be representative of the total 67 Oyedokun-Alli: Propaganda in Advertising in Nigeria population. The writer, therefore, wishes to posit that the results of the analysis are generalizable within a wider framework. Testing Procedure Each of the four items selected was examined within the context of psycholinguistic analysis. The reason being that the use of language (and even propaganda) in the advertisement can be properly analyzed within the purviews of psychology and linguistics. Analytical Procedure For analytical expediency, the researcher adopted Quirk and Greenbaum’s (1973) Performance and Judgment Test methodology, using the following scale;: Item 1 2 3 4 (product) familiarity scale No. of % of No of % of No of % of No SA SA A A U U SD of % of No of % of SD D D Fig. 1. Quirk and Greenbanm’s (1973) Performance and Judgment Test scale. Key: SA (Strongly Agree); A (Agree) U (Undecided), SD (Strongly Disagree), D (Disagree). To test the correlation between the claim in the advertisements and the responses of the end-users, and to accurately account for the conceptual representation, the study examined Braddock’s communication model. The major thrust of Braddock’s model is in form of these questions: 1 Who? Says what? For what purpose? To who? Through which medium? With which effect? Under what circumstance? Fig. 2: Braddock’s (1958) communication model The advertisers Under promote servicers Provide information about their products To increase scales The T.V Electronic media Yet to be determined Prospective users of the product Oyedokun-Alli: Propaganda in Advertising in Nigeria 68 Summary of Findings: (Item-by-Item) 1 2 No of SA 7 6 % of SA 70% 60% 3 5 50% 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 2 5 6 5 7 8 9 20% 50% 60% 50% 70% 80% 90% No of A % of No A of U 3 30% 1 10% 1 3 1 10% 2 5 2 20% 1 2 10% 1 10% 1 1 % of U No of SD % of SD No of D % of D 10% 1 10% 1 10% 30% 1 10% 1 10% 3 30% 4 40% 2 2 1 20% 20% 10% 50% 20% 10% 20% 10% Fig. 3: Summary of findings (using Quirk and Greenbaum’s Performance and Judgment test). Overall analysis and Discussions (i) Service Provider: MTN (Nigeria) Description of the language used “everywhere you go” Message Intended: That MTN (as GSM service provider is all over Nigeria. (emphasis mine). Psycholinguistic Analysis The audio – visual effects suggest that MTN (as a GSM service provider) has such a wide coverage that it covers the entire nook and crannies of Nigeria; everywhere is painted yellow – the official color of MTN as covering the entire geographical milieu. This, from our findings, is a mere propaganda! The fact, as attested to by our respondents, is that the MTN coverage (of Nigeria’s territory) is less than being “everywhere” Apart from this, even when the network coverage is available, constant network failures that characterize the services of the GSM providers have rubbed off on this claim. Beer/Stout Producer: Guinness (Nig.) Plc. Description of the language used: (ii) GUINNESS IS GOOD FOR YOU Message intended that drinking Guinness stout is beneficial to the consumers. Psycholinguistic Analysis The use of language, laced with captivating cinematographic illustration of a man’s successful adventure, is suggestive of the invigorating power of Guinness stout to 69 Oyedokun-Alli: Propaganda in Advertising in Nigeria strengthen the drinker. In fact, the Guinness stout as portrayed by the advert turns the man actor, Michael power into a superman! The adjective “good” is defined by Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners as “of a high quality/standard; able to do something well; giving pleasant fetching; pleasant to look at; giving a lot of value...” It is not in doubt that the advertisers (of Guinness stout) have the last meaning in mind. In other words, the advertisement is suggestive of the idea that “Guinness stout is giving a lot of value or is “beneficial to the drinker”. If the conceptual theories of meaning are made applicable to our understanding of the adjective “good”, then it is apt for us to conclude that the ‘frontiers’ or borderlines of the meaning of good is everything positive, beneficial and standard. However, contrary to this claims, medical records have proved that alcoholic intake poses some dangers to human health! Apart from this, the drinker (especially heavy ones), also run the risk of protruding bellies and temporary loss of control. These lines from William Shakespeare’s Othello aptly illustrate our view point (on alcohol): ...O invisible spirit of wine the enemy men put in their mouth which steals their brains, if thou hast no other name let us call thee the devil. (iii) Service Provider: Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Description of language used: “NTA: Africa’s largest network”. Message intended: that the Nigerian Television station’s broadcasts cover the largest (of all other stations) parts of Africa. Psycholinguistic analysis This T.V Jingle is aimed at imploring prospective advertisers to patronize NTA stations for their advert placements, since NTA is “Africa’s largest network”. Africa is the second largest continent, with an area covering 11,700,000 sq. miles and a population of 650,000.000. (The New Webster’s Dictionary of the English Language (International Edition), 1995:14). With fifty-two countries, NTA’s claim to covering the largest part of Africa is merely a propaganda device to secure patronage. The questions may be asked: (i) (ii) (iii) What statistical data can attest to this claim? Does the quality of programming guarantee this “brand loyalty”? Does the NTA take cognizance of constant power outage, poor signals and the infiltration of the media space by foreign stations? It is intuitively evident that this appeal to the minds of the viewers notwithstanding, the jingle is a mere propaganda. (iv) Nigerian Political Party [Peoples Democratic Party (PDP] Description of language use “power to the people” Oyedokun-Alli: Propaganda in Advertising in Nigeria 70 Message Intended: The PDP’s slogan, coupled with its umbrella symbol is suggestive of the fact that, with the party, “real power” resides with the electorates. The slogan, arguably, is consonant with Abraham Lincoln’s definition of democracy as “government of the people by the people and for the people”. “Power”, therefore, is defined as the “political control of a country or government”. The inference is that the control of political machineries ultimately resides with the masses. However, contrary to these positive claims, ten years into the present republic/democratic dispensation, real control of power resides with a tiny cabal, across the six geopolitical gives of the country. The masses with whom “power” supposedly resides live in object poverty, disease, ignorance and insecurity Conclusion and Recommendations This study examined the deployment of language as an arsenal used as propaganda devices in selected advertisements. It has been established in the analysis of data that deceptive contrivances are deeply rooted in propaganda device used in the four items discussed. The items are: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Guinness stout advertising MTN advertising Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) advertising and Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) political slogan. Each of the four items was analyzed within the purview of psycholinguistics – bearing in mind the use of propaganda devices to appeal to the mind. The study concludes that the advertisements of these items are laced with deceptive contrivances like visual distortion, false testimonials and partial disclosures. The twin instruments of sound and vision (in electronic media) and graphitic and graphological variations (in print media) were skillfully deployed in these tasks. It is the position of this paper that such abuse of the minds of the people should be checked. It is tantamount to fraud, deceit and false pretence to make claims to issues and facts that are false or partially true. We, therefore make the following recommendations: (a) Much more drastic and proactive legislations should be enacted by the National Assembly to check the deployment of “deceptive contrivances in advertisers’ claims. (b) The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) should be further empowered to verify advertisers’ claims before such clams are made public. (c) The National Judicial council (NJC) should direct judges to be much more proactive in deciding cases on propaganda for deception in advertising. (d) Advertising Practitioners’ Council of Nigeria (APCON) should be much more proactive in meting out strict penalties to its erring members who engage in such propaganda for deception. (e) Much more research interests should be channeled towards verifications of claims in advertisements, especially by members of the academic. 71 Oyedokun-Alli: Propaganda in Advertising in Nigeria References American Marketing Association (1972) Arens, W. and Bovee, C. (1994) Contemporary Advertising. Massachusett S, Irwin. Braddock, P (1958) The Structure and Function of Communication in Society. New York: Harper and Row. Bittner J.R. (1989) Mass Communication: An Introduction. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Publisher. Curran, J. and Gurenvitch, M. eds. (1997). Mass Media and Society. London: Arnold Group. Colley, R. (1961) Defining Goals for Measuring Advertising Results. New York: Association of National Advertisers. Doghuje, M. (1988) The Hidden Persuaders. Lagos: Granters Publishers. Herman M. and Chomsky, N. (1974) Trends in Advertising: A Critical Perspective. New York: Macraw-Hill Publishers Hittp://google.com.ng/search: Bittner J. R. (1989) Mass Communication: An Introduction. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Publishers Http://www. Slideshare.net/LHghighi/common-persuasive –techniques-in-advertising. Durham M. and Kellner, D eds. (2001) Media and Cultural Studies. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing. Leech, G. (1986) English Advertising. London: Longman. Lee, A.M. and Lee, E.M. (1985) The Fire Art of Propagandas. New York: University of Chicago Press Macmillan English Dictionary (New Edition 1993). London: Macmillan. O’ Sullivan, T., Dutton, B. and Rayners, P. (2003) Studying in the Media. New York: Oxford University Press. Osho, S. (2001) Advertising and Public Relations Law. Abeokuta: ESS Oh Publishers. Osuala E. (1993) Introduction to Research Methodology. Onitsha: Africana-Fep Publishers. Oyedokun-Alli, W. (2008) Introduction to Communication for Higher Education. Offa: Hamby Publishing. Quirk, R. and Greenbaum, S. (1973) Elicitation Use Experiments in English: Linguistic Studies in Use and Attitude. London: Longman Group. Shakespeare, W. (1599) Othello. The Moor of Venice. Tomga, A. ed. (1997) Use of English for Polytechnics (1). Lagos: Sterling-Hordes Publishers. The New Webster’s Dictionary of Contemporary English. (International Education). New York: Lexicon Publishers Yule, C. (2002) The Study of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Oyedokun-Alli: Propaganda in Advertising in Nigeria 72 Appendix I Questionnaire 1. I am quite familiar with the language of advertisement of these products/services (please tick the ones) applicable. (a) (b) (c) (c) (d) 2. The language of the advertisement is well understood by me SA( ) A( ) U( ) SD( ) D( ) 3. The use of language in the advertisement is laced with propaganda SA( ) A( ) U( ) SD( ) D( ) 4. The use of other visional effect (beautiful pictures, sceres, etc) reinforces the propaganda. SA( ) A( ) U( ) SD( ) D( ) 5. I have carried out checks on the claim(s) of the advertisers SA( ) A( ) U( ) SD( ) D( ) 6. My checks have revealed contrary results to the claims of the advertisers SA( ) A( ) U( ) SD( ) D( ) 7, Without the propaganda the product would still have sold well in my neighborhood SA( ) A( ) U( ) SD( ) D( ) 8. The advertisement touches on my sensibilities SA( ) A( ) U( ) SD( ) D( ) 9. My choices of product/service have been heavily influenced by the manner of the use of language SA( ) A( ) U( ) SD( ) D( ) 10. I am of the opinion that the claims of the advertisers should be verified SA( ) A( ) U( ) SD( ) D( ) Freely comment on what you further recommend should be done to advertisers with “wild” claims.