Propaganda

 Propaganda is a form of advertising meant to persuade or influence its audience to believe in a certain idea. Propaganda typically exaggerates truths, insults the opposition, and contains hidden messages, and is used mostly by companies and politicians. You can find propaganda everywhere including television, books, flyers, posters, radio, and speeches. The 7 types of propaganda most commonly used are known as bandwagon, name-calling, testimonial, glittering generality, plain folks, card stacking, and transfer.

Bandwagon

Bandwagon is a form of propaganda that involves persuading someone that they should do what everyone else is doing. The audience should jump on the bandwagon and believe/support a certain idea because everyone else is and they shouldn't miss out. An example of this is Dunkin' Donuts' slogan "America Runs On Dunkin'" This slogan claims that everyone in America drinks Dunkin' Donuts and that you should jump on the bandwagon.

Name-Calling

Name-calling in propaganda involves putting down the opposition by calling them names. This is to make the audience believe that the opposition is lesser or worse due to being associated with words that have a negative connotation. This is most commonly used in politics or between two brands that have a history of rivalry (i.e Burger King and Mcdonalds). An example is Donald Trump nicknaming Hillary Clinton "Crooked Hillary Clinton" so when Trump supporters think of Hillary Clinton, they associate her with being crooked and/or dishonest. 

Testimonial

A testimonial is when a product, person, or idea is endorsed by someone, typically a celebrity. Because of this, people will support the subject because it is either endorsed by someone trustworthy (i.e a doctor) or because their favorite celebrity supports it. Sometimes these two things will cross over eg. Michael Jordan's endorsement of Nike (he is someone famous who is also a professional basketball player). 

Glittering Generality

The use of glittering generality in propaganda involves using words that merely make the subject sound good. The words don't necessarily have to have any meaning behind them, as long as it makes the subject sound good. Similar to name-calling, this causes the audience to associate that subject with words that have a positive connotation. An example is Mcdonald's advertisement for their chocolate mocha, "Creamy. Dreamy. Icy. Chocolatey." 

Plain Folks

Plain Folks is a technique used to convince the audience that the subject is for everyone. Everyone can use this product or a politician is just like you and me. It doesn't feel like the subject isn't for a certain demographic, rather it appeals to everyone. A popular form of this technique is a politician or celebrity doing regular things. For example, Obama eating at Mcdonald's to show that he's just like us and eats fast food. Another is a member of the upper class or government (i.e president, prime minister, or royal family) visiting a hospital or those in need. Whether these actions are genuine doesn't matter, as long as it makes the audience believe that the subject is just like all the other folks. 

Card Stacking

Card Stacking is similar to glittering generality in that it also used positive words. However, card stacking typically uses a list format or red, white, and blue format. It will involve just listing off positive things about the subject. For example, Burger King's advertisement for their satisfries product. They state "40% less fat, 30% less calories, and big taste".

Transfer

Transfer in propaganda is used when you want to associate the subject with something else. This something else can either be bad or good and can be done by either side of the opposition. It convinces the audience that something is inherently either good or bad as it is associate with something that is either good or bad. For example, Uncle Sam wears the colors of the American flag, so he is typically associated with patriotism and can be seen as a physical manifestation of America calling on its citizens to join the war effort. An unfortunately extremely common example of transfer is comparing something to the Holocaust. Typically the subject is compared to the Holocaust is nothing like the Holocaust in any way shape or form and it would be considered antisemitic to compare the two. A recent example is the comparison of Kristallnacht to the Capitol Riot in the U.S.A. These two events are nothing alike however, many continue to do it.