Persuasion In Advertising Essay

The world has a history of persuasion. There are many types of persuasion. Companies use advertisements to persuade consumers to use their products. Government officials and other politicians use persuasion to gain voters support. Militaries is all countries use persuasion to gain public support at the home front as well as the battlefield as well as persuade the public to fund or be in favor of was. Throughout history there have been many tactics used to persuade individuals. Some tactics like propaganda are looked at less favorably than others like public relations and advertisements.

Propaganda was a term used in the early days of public relations. For example, one of the first Australian practitioners George Fitzpatrick was listed in

the Sydney telephone directory before the Second World War as “Registered practitioner in Public persuasion, propaganda, publicity”( Herinst.org). Edward Bernays, the father of public relatios in America, wrote an entire book called “Propaganda.”
By definition propaganda is “ideas or statements that are often false or exaggerated and that are spread in order to help a cause, a political leader, a government, etc.” (Webster.com). It is often looked down upon to use propaganda, but it is similar to the definition of public relations, which is “the activity or job of providing information about a particular person or organization to the public so that people will regard that person or organization in a favorable way” (Webster.com). They are both about having people perceive the situation in a favorable way or understand why something has to happen.
Propaganda has been used to persuade the public for centuries. It has mainly used in times of war were its know in infamy. Throughout history, many countries including the United States have used propaganda. By look at the origins of propaganda to how it has been used throughout history. This paper will examine how propaganda has become associated with negative and how it differs from public relations by looking at the Ancient Greek society, early Roman Catholic Church use, and the use of propaganda during the World Wars.
During prehistoric times the Greeks story is believed to have begun (Ancient-greece.org). They are accredited with the origins of philosophy, democracy, art, architecture, sciences, and the Olympic games (Leadershipclassic.org). Through all those activities and ideas, the Greeks were able to impose and shape the opinion of their people. The citizens were well informed about what city-state they were apart of, but that did not stop them from being well aware of what was happening in other city-states. They did not have resources like newspapers or radios but that did not stop them from trying to shape their people’s opinions and ideas about the other city-states as well as other enemies.. Handwritten books were distributed, people’s place of worship which the Greeks called oratory (historians.org).
Many Greek rulers used propaganda to gain support for the consolidation and maintenance of power, the waging of wars, and strengthening religious practices (Jowee & O’Donnell pg. 59). One instance happened during the Persian War when Greek naval commander, Themistocles, was able to get messages to the Persian leader that Greek troops were preparing to leave an area. This led to the Persian leader using his resources to attempt to trap the Greeks. Themistocles continued to send the Persians these messages until the Persians were eventually forced out of Athens.
The Greeks believed in everyone speaking for him or herself, including during court appearances. Citizens could hire coaches of persuasion, known as Sophist, to teach them techquines for arguments that could be used and adapted for a variety of purposes (Pratkanis pg. 12). However, these Sophist did not believe in an absolute truth and believed that persuasion was necessary to find the best course of action. This belief led to the negative connotations of sophistry, which means “tirckery” or “fallacious argumentation” (Pratkanis p.13).
This would be the beginning of propaganda and public relations.

It is the men in power trying to manipulate the ideas of other men to conform to the same ideas. The rulers used this practice to gain the public approval as well as manipulate them into joining their cause or beliefs. The use of Sophists was more likely the beginning of propaganda and its use of persuading to make others believe one and having the ability to adept an argument to the needs of the audience and the persuader. All were trying to gain the trust of others by giving information, that in the case of the Persian War were false.

Like the Greeks the Romans believed in making decisions by persuading. The court systems by encouraging the use of debars and political speeches. The main difference, however, was that the Romans hired people to persuade for them. (Pratkanis pg.13).

But the original definition of propaganda did not come until the Roman Catholic Church.. The church was using propaganda in a sociological sense and “was to the spreading of ideas that would not occur naturally, but only via a cultivated or artificial generation” (Black, pg. 121). During 1622, the Vatican published “Congregation for the Propaganda of Faith,” which they believed to be a “moral endeavor” even though it was propaganda (Black, pg 121). The reasoning was it was suppose to harmonize the teaching and content of

faith.
The Romans believed that since it was the church sending out the information that it would be uncontested. To do this day, there are people who believe anything the church says to be true. The church gives propaganda in which the public is believed to blindly follow and not have to think for them selves. It is the expectations that what the church says is true and if it is not then it is someone trying to corrupt the religion.
Propaganda came to age during the World Wars. Propaganda was being used not only in the United States but Germany, England and my other countries involved. All were trying to gain support from their people to join the cause. The United States want its citizens to get behind the United States involvements in the wars while the Germans, the Nazis in particular, were using propaganda to gain power and turn their people on others.
During the World War I, the military in the United States was trying to create agencies to regulate and censor information flow, recruit more, and sell the validity of the war effort at home and on the battlefield. Many of these efforts were help made by Woodrow Wilson’s Committee of Public Information, which was headed by George Creel, a man with the reputation of an investigative journalist (firstworldwar.com).
During this time was when the famous “Uncle Sam wants you” poster was created and distributed nationwide (encyclopedia.com). Other posters with war messages are given credited to selling the war to the American people by using placement as well as having the abilty to be reprinted in may different languages (Cook, 2014). The United States was not the only country using such posters to gain a favorable view of the world. Almost every country involved was using such posters not just for communicating with their people justifying the country’s involvement but also as “means of procuring men, money and resources to sustain the military campaign” (firstworldwar.com). Propaganda posters were also used to encourage
By the time of the Second World War,