Download Classification Essay

Jerome Udongo
ENGL 101-106
Prof. Sims
27 March 2014
Classification Essay
The Seductiveness of Propaganda
In the article “Propaganda Techniques in Today’s Advertising” McClintock discusses the different types
of Propaganda that are shown throughout the media. The definition of propaganda is that the use of a
variety of communication techniques that create an emotional appeal to accept a particular belief or
opinion, to adopt a certain behavior or to perform a particular actions. And by knowing the meaning of
what propaganda means, then the understanding of the different types of propaganda will help others
realize if someone is being fooled or dragged into something not true or just deceived into falling into a
type of control. There are many types of propaganda that many witness every day, but there are just a few
of the propaganda techniques that affect every ones daily lives. Propaganda techniques such as Name
Calling, Glittering Gesture, and Bandwagon are the most viewed by many people around the world.
The first propaganda technique that will be discussed is Name Calling. Name Calling. Name
Calling is the use of names that evoke fear or hatred in the viewer. This type of propaganda always
creates a negative opinion on a person or thing. For example if a person were to see a commercial for
Coca-Cola and in the commercial in captions that “Pepsi is terrible. Go with Coke!” the reason for this
name calling is to inform the viewer that Pepsi is a bad product. Many will watch this type of
advertisement and believe that Coke is the better choice.
The second type of propaganda is Glittering Gestures, which is the act of referring to words or
ideas that evoke a positive emotional response from an audience. Usually this kind of propaganda leaves a
viewer to have positinve feelings towards a person or thing. For example, if an advertisement for a
cleaning product were to appear like “Tide” and in there was a cuddly bear being voiced by George
Clooney saying “Your laundry won’t just smell clean good, but will change your life forever, leaving you
happiness!” This kind of example may be a little over the top, but just a point that needed to be made
about the technique.
The third propaganda technique is Bandwagon, which is a technique to attempt to persuade the
target audience to take a course of action. For example if there was an advertisement for a new smart
phone with a new holographic screen, and in that advertisement everyone in a big city were using them
and then a voice over appears saying “This is the future, be a part of it.” This type of propaganda is
usually the one that is viewed literally everywhere around the world, causing people to be apart of the
crowd.
In conclusion discussing these three types of propaganda it must be said that people must take a
closer look at these types of propaganda that they are viewing. These types of