Advertising and Propaganda

It is important not to confuse publicity with propaganda. Advertising is aimed at making a profit and the propaganda has as its purpose to inform and create awareness of a philosophical, religious, political, economic or social subject.

Advertising is the act of making known a product or product set, leading to its consumption. Some people see advertising as an art to convince and persuade but we can define it as a communicative process that disseminates information through different media such as television, radio, internet and print media (newspapers and magazines).
Advertising can manipulate consumers, leading them to purchase products and services in excess, can represent an obstacle to a free and rational choice, as an incentive for excessive borrowing.
Increasingly, advertisers are looking for information about the public that they want to call attention to before making their advertising. With knowledge of their likes, their habits, it is easier to achieve the objective, that is to sell.
The social group that is more easily influenced is adolescent's group for various reasons such as:
- Wishing to be like a famous person who makes the ad;

- Wanting to be part of a group that only uses brands;

- Wishing to impress peers;

- Showing their wealth and social status,

-Among others.
In relation to the famous peolpe that advertise for different products, we don’t agree because they are saying what they say because they are being paid, the more likely is that they have never tested the product. themselves Consumers, who are more naive, don't remember this and end up purchasing the product or service being advertised only because someone famous is in the ad and not for its quality. This is called persuasion.
It is normal that consumers give in to pressure from the advertisers because they often produce advertisements in which reality seems much simpler, providing solutions to the insecurities and moral and financial obstacles to consumers.
Some product's ads abuse of advertising by placing strong images to shock and draw people's attention. Some of these ads can be even scary!

Propaganda is a specific way of presenting information about a product, brand, or company policy aimed at influencing the attitude of an audience for a cause, position or action.
There are several types of propaganda such as:
- Institutional - propaganda that promotes the image or philosophy of an organization;

- Comparative - propaganda which compares a particular brand to another;

- Defense - intitutional propaganda that supports socially responsible messages.

In our opinion it is absolutely impossible not to be influenced by advertising because advertisers use anything to get attention. Advertising is largely an exaggeration without measurements. In my case, I try to make the right choices, I compare products before buying and try to see how much I need that product. To finish ,I think as consumers we must be critical and act responsibly. All citizens are alerted to the problem of misleading advertising, but it never hurts to note that the influence of the media in our day-to-day is not always detected and may be acting irrationally without realizing it and acquire, use or buy a certain object or product that we are not required.

Cláudia Faria & Miguel Sousa 11ºB