Propaganda vs advertisting
define task:
- Introduction: What is Propaganda? What is Advertising? Is there a difference? (125 words with relevant examples)
- There is a thin line between Propaganda and Advertising. Both mediums employ and use the same multimedia techniques to try and encourage people to do something, or implement an ‘idea’ or ‘concept’ into their heads. However, advertising takes a general approach, often subtly urging or coaxing people into purchasing products, trying services, or taking heed to a certain notion, such as smoking or domestic violence. Propaganda, on the other hand, uses a much more cynical and deceptive viewpoint. It’s purpose is to falsely feed information into society’s minds, trying to influence their opinions. Propaganda is also used more in political manners, to change the public’s perceptions and shape their viewpoints in a certain direction, often carrying negative connotations with it.
pROPAGANDA EXAMPLES:Title: I want you for U.S Army
Author: James Montgomery Flagg Date: 1917 Artist: Memac Ogilvy & Mather Dubai
Date: October 18th, 2013 |
Artist: Unknown
Place made: Australia Date made: 1942 ADVERTISING EXAMPLES:Artist: McCann Erickson
Date: 2007 |
Anti-US “Liberators” poster from occupied Holland
Artist: Unknown Date: 1944 Date: 2015
Artist: Unknown |
Analysis: A)Artist: Law Kok Kew
Date: July 23, 2015 #1: This is quite a clever advertisement, depicting what appears to be the silhouette of an elephant at the back of a cut tree. The typography states "Cut a tree. Kill a life.," enforcing the message that by destroying nature and trees, you are ending an animals life by harming their habitat. This message is reinforced by the corresponding colour palate, painting the elephant in a bright, crimson colour which juxtaposes with the stark black of the tree, creating a menacing and strong impression which carries the connotation of bleeding animals, who are suffering, and excels in creating empathy in the audience. Using the clever technique of shapes, and artistic placement in a way in which you can directly see the correlation between the effects of deforestation and the consequences it has on animals homes, therefore proving to be successful in creating empathy and guilt in the audience, and urging them to think twice before 'cutting a tree' or supporting the notion.
Analysis: B)#1: This propaganda poster depicts a creature which is meant to be interpreted as the American nation as a whole, with a grey, black and red colour scheme and a bold title which reads liberators. The dull, ashen colour when mixed with a bold red, creates a darker emotional response, such as anger or conveys passion, and is also associated with fear and unknowing. The illustration represents America as somewhat 'mechanical monster', with many references to American icons such as Ku Klux Klan, money (associating them with greed), missiles and other weapons such as a noose, and the use of the David star to convey to the German audience (this propaganda is against America from Germany which can be seen by the language captions) that Americans were supporting Jews, therefore instilling anger and fear in the audience successfully, casting America in a negative light and portraying them as awful people so that Germans would feel persuaded to fight in the war against them.
Compare:Artist: Harry Ryle Hopps
Date: 1917 |
Artist: Ogilvy & Mather Johannesburg
Date: April 23, 2013 #2: This advertisement illustrates, what seems to be three different articles of cloths, black, cream, and maroon, folded together in a way that they depict a tough film movie character. Down the bottom, a bottle of StaSoft also appears, with the caption of "softens even the toughest. The dark colours used to create the main focus of the advertisement create a heavy pallete, which strongly contrasts with the bright white of the background, juxtaposing the "rough, tough" character, with the "soft, fluffy" detergent bottle. The dark colours create a menacing and ragged appearance and vibe, in which the use of the StaSoft bottle comes in to 'save the day'. The function of this advertisement is to convey the fact that the StaSoft company is so amazing at it's job that it can soften even the toughest, a clever double entendre by using associations of a tough movie character to enhance the audience's understanding of the commercial. Overall, this ad has succeeded through the use of connotations and humour, by appealing to the audience's senses.
#2: This is an Australian propaganda poster, and depicts a Japanese soldier from the north, which can be seen by the red and white colour scheme behind the soldier, coming down to the south and shows the country of Australia on the world map, with the typography: He's coming south, it's fight, work or perish. The red and white background is meant to represent Japan's flag and instil a sense of power and insecurity in the audience's heart due to it filling half the page. By using Australia as the focus, it shows the audience what's at stake with the Japanese soldier, and the typography in correspondence to the icon of a Japanese soldier is used to convey the message that it's not long before Australia will be attacked, and it's your duty to either fight & work, or perish at the hands of those coming from the north, promoting a sense of urgency and panic & need to do something. Overall, this was successful in persuading the audience to get up and contribute.
Artist: Y & R Franfurt
Date: Unknown Both these pictures use similar techniques in persuading the audience to agree with what they're saying. The propaganda poster takes a negative approach in which it try's to ingrain the idea that Germany is evil, by using associations such as a gorilla to represent Germany and the icon of a naked women, to convey that Germany are relentless thefts and should be stopped. However, in the print advert, it takes a positive approach and tries to promote their concept, by showing the negatives of what would happen if you didn't buy their product, and try to subtly influence the target audience through the icon of cigarettes, as a mere warning.
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