You are undoubtedly familiar with the terms propaganda and advertising. These are terms that regularly appear in the news or in society. Yet there are also differences between propaganda and advertising. Here we take a closer look at what propaganda and advertising are, what the similarities and differences are and we give a number of contemporary examples of propaganda.
What is propaganda and what is advertising?
Advertising is the promotion of services, products, vision or ideas of the sender. Propaganda is one-sided ideological or religious advertising, spread through mass media over a longer period of time. The purpose of which is to influence the attitude or behavior of society in favor of the sender.
The similarities between propaganda and advertising
1. Magnification of reality
Both advertising and propaganda aim to magnify reality. You are undoubtedly familiar with the advertisements of car manufacturers. You then see a beautiful new car driving through beautiful nature. The feeling the advertising wants to evoke is a feeling of freedom. But in reality, most people use a car for more than nature trips. Usually it concerns a means of transport for work. And work is the exact opposite of freedom. In this example, the advertisers choose to magnify only one aspect of car use.
Propaganda also uses an exaggeration of reality. For example, during the Nazi regime, Jews were put in a bad light by making caricatures of them. So-called specific stereotypical features, such as a big nose, were enlarged in the drawings. These were then published in mass media such as newspapers and magazines. This exaggeration of certain aspects is therefore an important similarity between advertising and propaganda.
2. Unqualified messages
Another similarity between propaganda and advertising is that they both present unsubtle messages. This means that it is a distortion of reality.
For example, an advertisement only mentions the positive aspects of a product. The negative aspects are left out. This is also clearly reflected in propaganda. Many dictatorial regimes only mention the positive aspects of the policy in propaganda, while pushing negative aspects under the carpet.
The differences between propaganda and advertising
Now that you know the similarities between propaganda and advertising, it is interesting to look at the differences between these two forms of communication.
1. The communication goal is different
First of all, propaganda and advertising have different communication goals. The main purpose of advertising is to convince people to buy a product or use a service.
In propaganda, a certain political charge is the norm. Propaganda is used to condone a specific political system. It is also used to portray a particular political party in a negative or positive light.
The mechanics of advertising and propaganda therefore have many similarities, but the communication goals are clearly different.
2. Advertising is recognizable as advertising
Another important difference between propaganda and advertising is recognisability. People who watch advertisements are usually aware of this. This is also clearly visible in today's society. A label is always stuck on.
For example, a presenter says that we will now move on to advertising. Newspapers and magazines also clearly indicate what advertising is and what is not. Although a label is placed on advertising, this does not mean that it is not effective.
Advertising communicates with your subconscious. That is why there are also implicit messages hidden in it. We previously gave the example of a commercial of a car driving in beautiful nature. As a viewer of the advertisement, you simultaneously associate that car with freedom. In reality, this is of course nonsense, because other cars would also give that feeling of freedom in that setting.
With propaganda it is not always clear that it is propaganda. Propaganda works well if it is not clearly indicated that it is propaganda. People are then convinced that these are honest messages. And that is precisely where the danger lies.
The most striking example can be seen in the Nazi regime. Thanks to advanced technology at the time, propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels was able to use new means such as radio to communicate with a large audience. During the war, the German population was systematically lied to. They only became aware of this after the war.
3. Propaganda is more dangerous because its impact transcends the individual
Let us first assume that there is also harmless and positive propaganda. For example, if a politician goes to the hairdresser before a debate in order to make a better appearance, then that is not necessarily dangerous.
The point, however, is that propaganda is generally more dangerous than advertising, because it is ideological in nature and recipients are not always aware of the influence. If we look at the history of our world, it is clear that ideologies have had a negative impact on the world.
There is also a danger in advertising, because it can convince you to buy products that you do not need. However, this only has an impact on a person's personal life and not necessarily on society. That is also clearly a difference between propaganda and advertising.
Contemporary examples of propaganda
What examples of propaganda can be found? First of all, there are certain countries that live off propaganda.
1. North Korea
A striking example of this is the country North Korea. The entire purpose of the political system is to idealize the leader. That is why you see photos of the great leader all over the country and wonderful stories are told about him. To us this is clearly propaganda, but to a large part of the North Korean population it is not clear.
2. Political campaigns
Propaganda also occurs in our society. We sometimes think we are immune to it, but that is a gross misconception. During election times, a lot of propaganda is also used by political parties. Consider, for example, political advertisements, but interviews and debates are also a form of propaganda. During political debates, the other party is often presented in a negative light, while the negative aspects of one's own party are not highlighted. This is a well-known propaganda technique.
3. Government campaigns
There are also specific government campaigns in which propaganda is used. The corona crisis is a good example of this. People had to be convinced to get vaccinated and that is why there were all kinds of government advertisements where only the benefits of vaccinations were mentioned. This message was also central at the various press conferences.
Conclusion
You now know what the similarities and differences of advertising and propaganda are. All in all, you can say that both propaganda and advertising are legitimate means of communication, but that propaganda has more dangers than advertising.
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