Sly Techniques Used in Advertisements

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Sly Techniques Used in Advertisements In an essay by Ann McClintock titled, “Propaganda Techniques in Today’s Advertising,” she talks about the many different ways that people try to persuade and trick their viewer’s without them catching on to their tactics. The product called, The Laughing Cow, uses an advertisement that seems simple and straight forward to the average viewer. With close observation, you can reveal the techniques being used, such as glittering generalities and the plain folks approach. The product I am observing is the Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss Spreadable Cheese. The container of original Swiss flavored cheese in the middle is the focal point in this particular ad. This ad uses continuation by vertically lining the images on the page so that the viewer’s eyes fall down the page to the final thing that reads, “Have you laughed today?” The smoke lightly rolling off of the page is saying that the product has a light and smooth texture. The background is solid red in color and the product is mostly green and silver. This gives a good figure-ground contrast to make the product really stand out. The red color of the cow and product name matches the background to add similarity to the advertisement. The wording in this ad falls under the category of glittering generalities. This means that the words or phrases are meant to assert positive feelings into the viewer’s mind. This particular advertisement says, “Life’s not perfect. But now your snack can be.” This makes the product seem so good that it is completely flawless. The last words on the page ask the seemingly simple question, “Have you laughed today?” If you do not analyze closely, then you may not recognize that this simple question is saying that the product brings happiness to its consumer. Another technique of propaganda that this advertisement uses is something that Ann

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