Propaganda Selling WWII

PROPAGANDA Propaganda is the means by which advertisers convince the public that they should buy an item (or an idea).

War Time Propaganda Throughout history, there are numerous examples of leaders and governments using propaganda to further their causes and even sell war.

WWII During WWII, shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the United States formed the Office of War Information (OWI). Part of the OWI’s responsibility was to create propaganda to gain further support of the war, and it used many techniques to persuade the public to join in war time efforts. One method of propaganda was War Posters created by the Works Project Administration (WPA).

Bandwagon “Everyone else is doing it, and so should you.” Appeals to emotion and the human need to belong How does this poster reflect this technique?

Name-calling “You don’t want to be like this guy.” The technique of name-calling is intended to link a person or idea to a negative image.

Fear “If you don’t do this, bad things will happen.” Instilling fear is an effective technique to convince people to act a certain way or support a given candidate

Plain Folks “This idea can appeal to everyday, ordinary citizens.” Plain Folks was used in many WPA posters to persuade the general public to get involved in war efforts such as planting victory gardens.

Transfer Transfer uses symbols that are not necessarily related to the message. We see the eagle, representing the U.S. as a symbol of power that is superior to Japan, represented by the snake, a negative symbol. Can you see any other type of propaganda in this poster?

Glittering Generalities Using words that mean different things to different people in order to stir emotions Which word is being used in this poster as a glittering generality?

Logical Fallacy Use of faulty or questionable logic to sell an idea He is giving his life. You can give a small amount of money. If you don’t give money, you are hurting your country and further endangering soldiers.

Why Should We Study Propaganda? You can’t believe everything you see or read. You must look beyond the propaganda to the real message and evaluate the idea or product for itself. You do not want to be convinced of something that is false or contrary to your beliefs.

Sources All photographs are from the American Memory Collection of the Library of Congress memory.loc.govmemory.loc.gov Propaganda Information: