Why is it that certain advertisements draw more attention than others? Today, propaganda still plays a huge role in advertisement just like it did back in the 1920s during Adolf Hitler's time. Adolf Hitler was the leader in the National Socialist Party who used propaganda as a device to "convince the masses" (Miller 639). He compared propaganda to advertising because propaganda is similar to advertising in that they both attract the emotional component of their audience. Found in Robert K. Miller's book is a passage written by Hitler, "All advertising, whether in the field of business or politics, achieves success through the continuity and sustained uniformity of its application" (Miller 639). After World War I, Hitler learned the advantages of propaganda through Germany's opponent. He applied their similar skill and calculation in creating his own propaganda for World War II that worked towards the masses (Miller 633). .
Since persuasive advertising is a form of propaganda companies use to try to sell their products, people who pay attention to the advertisements should go beyond just the fine colors and wordly illustrations and figure out why the advertisement is the way it is. In doing so, they will learn the tricks that the companies used to sell their products and, therefore, will be able to judge whether the product is what it is perceive to be. People need to question the advertisements and not just believe everything the advertisement says. There are several resources people could refer to that could help them better judge a product. They could refer to Donna Woolfolk Cross's article "Propaganda: How Not to Be bamboozled" and also Jib Fowles" article "Advertising's Fifteen Basic Appeals." .
There are many different advertisements of alcohol. Some are very vivid in their illustrations and wording, and others are not as colorful. How is one supposed to understand what the ad is trying to say? For instance, found in the June 26, 2003 issue of the Rolling Stones Magazine is an ad of Ketel One Vodka.
