WWI WWII Propaganda Posters Five Propaganda Techniques Bandwagon

WWI & WWII Propaganda Posters

Five Propaganda Techniques • Bandwagon: persuading people to do something by telling them that others are doing it • Testimonial: using the words of a famous person to persuade you • Transfer: using the names/pictures of famous people, but not direct quotes • Repetition: product name repeated at least three times • Emotional Words: words that make you feel strongly about someone or something

The Bandwagon: “Everyone’s doing it” • Make it appear that many people have joined the cause already, and that they are having lots of fun or getting significant advantage

Testimonial: “You can be just like me…a rich, famous, and/or intelligent person” • Use celebrities and public personalities who have well established and trusted public brands. • Use experts, clerics, police, scientists and others whose title is respected, even if the people themselves are unknown.

Transfer: “I may not say it, but my face is on the box. ” • By linking an item to something the consumer respects or enjoys, positive feelings can be generated for it.

Repetition: “Get it? Good. ” • Repetition is effective because people feel comfortable with what they are familiar with, and repetition creates familiarity.

Emotional Words / Images: “How does that make you feel? ” • By using words or images that evoke feelings, consumers are moved to act, buy, or support various causes

YOUR ASSIGNMENT • Draw a propaganda poster that supports a WWII topic OR cause of your choice (i. e. Liberty Bonds, recruitment, etc. ) – You will be graded on: • Presentation: – – – • Historical Accuracy: – • Visual appeal Creativity Effort The poster is related to content learned in class Communication: – Written component provides justification and rational

Wake up, America! Americans were not eager to enter the war, and Americans of German ancestry tended to support Germany, not Britain and France. The government’s first task was to convince citizens that they must support the war effort without reservation. Here, a woman clad in the stars and stripes represents America and American liberty.

Uncle Sam This famous portrayal of “Uncle Sam” first appeared during World War I.

Destroy this mad brute While England France were depicted as “civilization, ” Germany was shown as a “mad brute” — here, a giant, drooling gorilla weilding the club of German kultur (culture) and carrying the limp, half-naked body of a woman. As a result of propaganda like this, German Americans — many of whose ancestors had lived in America for centuries — faced persecution during the war.

On which side of the window are you? Men who stayed safe at home would be left out of the glory. Here, a man stays safe inside, left in the shadows, while victorious soldiers parade outside his window.

A wonderful opportunity for you Military service offered young men the chance to travel the world and see places they could never otherwise have visited. Here, a young sailor, suitcase in hand, steps “ashore, on leave. ”

Our greatest mother join! Women who wanted to play a more active role could serve as nurses. This poster showed nursing as the natural extension of motherhood. A Red Cross nurse, “our greatest mother, ” shelters a young girl from the war raging in the background.

Our boys need sox, knit your bit Women could not serve in the army, but they could help the war effort in other ways. This poster urged women to knit socks for soldiers, even though textile factories made soldiers’ uniforms. Efforts like these had more to do with generating feelings of patriotism than with actually supplying the troops.

Learn to make and test the big guns The army offered men a chance to learn skills that might serve them in a future job or “trade. ” This recruitment strategy — still seen today in television commercials — was used for the first time in World War I.

Keep the home garden going Because so much food was needed for soldiers and starving civilians in Europe, Americans were encouraged to keep gardens. (In World War II, these gardens would be called “victory gardens. ”) This poster shows three men with crops in poses like those in Archibald Willard’s famous painting Spirit of ‘ 76, and calls on the “Spirit of ‘ 18. ”

Beat back the Hun with Liberty Bonds In this poster, a German soldier with menacing eyes and bloody fingers looms across the Atlantic.

Must women and children die in vain? To finance the war, the U. S. Government borrowed money from Americans by selling “Liberty Bonds” that would be paid back with interest. The first bond drive fell short of its goals, though, and the government began an aggressive campaign to convince Americans to subscribe. This poster reminded people of the suffering of European children.

His Liberty Bond, paid for in full This poster played more vividly on the guilt of people on the home front. “This boy has made his last great sacrifice, ” the caption reads. “Are we, as Americans, doing our part? ”

Remember your first thrill of American liberty Immigrants were the target of this campaign. America had given them liberty, the poster reminded them; now it was their duty to buy bonds to help preserve it.

END