Propaganda in Advertising

 Advertising is virtually irrelevant without the use of propaganda. It's near impossible to go through the day without some sort of ad trying to get through to you using these tactics. Some of my favorite examples use the Beautiful People approach, making everyday things seem glamorous. Feminine Hygiene commercials are famous for this, like in this commercial for Platex tampons.

Really? Apparently if you buy Platex tampons, you will becoming a beautiful model with flowing hair and bright sexy clothes..opposed to other tampon brands which leave you boring and stiff? SO if you want to have an awesome period, you have to buy Platex.

Another example of propaganda often seen is the Common Man technique. I see it a lot in weight loss ads, like this one for the bowflex treadclimber:

It's the whole idea of "I'm just like you! If it works for me, it HAS to work for you too!"

Internet

There seems to be well over a 100 recognized social media networking sites. Most of which, I have never heard of. Many of them are specfically for certain demographics, like certain races/cultures/ages/and occupations. There also seem to be a lot focused on interests ( like blogging!), and socializing (new moms). One site that caught my eye was Ravelry, which is a SMN site for knitters and crotchetters. It was founded in 2007 by a husband and wife. They made it for people who shared an interest (whether novice or experienced) in yarn work. People can make friends, meetup groups, or share patterns. I have had a lot of experience with SMN sites (like this one!), from myspace, to yelp, to facebook, to diaryland. Sometimes it can be a good experience (reunite with friends and family/express myself/keep in touch), but I have had a lot of negative experiences too. I really despise Yelp. I have pretty much all of my posts removed from their site, and for stupid reasons (I won't get in to). I feel like they have bad business ethics and are not honest with their users. Bottom line, people need to be aware and competent when using these sites. If you use good judgement and common sense, you more than likely will not run in to problems.