Propaganda as a Function of Total, Time, Trust, Truth and Trigger - Term Paper Example

Section/# Propaganda as a Function of Total, Time, Trust, Truth and Trigger: A Case Study in the Use of the Lowe’s Home Improvement Bumper Sticker Veterans Day Handout During the past several weeks, our course has dealt with the five T’s of propaganda: Total, Time, Trust, Truth, and Trigger. With regards to the unit of analysis for this paper, that of the Lowe’s Veteran’s Day bumper sticker handout, this particular piece adequately exhibits distinct elements of each of these Five Ts. As such, this brief analysis will examine each of these with relation to the ways in which they ascribe to the example that was given. Additionally, pertinent points from course notes and lectures will also be included to help to understand the unique attributes which help to make up the full and complete definition of the term “propaganda”. Firstly, the total can be understood as a function of the effect of the entire message. Lowe’s provided on its handouts the following quote, “To honor our armed forces, Lowes will be providing customers will complimentary bumper stickers that offer a simple ‘Thank You’ to our troops. A limited quantity of ‘Thank You’ stickers, with an image of the American flag, will be available in-store during the veterans day weekend.” The totality of this message, although simple, has various levels of meaning that help to explain why such a symbol serves as a piece of propaganda (Collins 15). Though further meaning will be extrapolated from each of the words that this statement entails, it is important to weigh the statement from its total meaning. Two main thoughts are therefore passed to the reader. The first of these is that it is their responsibility to honor sacrifice. The second is that Lowe’s is performing this service by virtue of its understanding of the role it plays as a community leader. Secondly, the particular piece of propaganda must be understood with relation to the time that it appeared. Firstly, this understanding of time is with relation to the time of year that the bumper stickers appeared; that of Veteran’s Day. Thus, the powerfully evocative effect is that one understands this particular part of the year/season is important and should necessarily be noted by both shopper and retailer alike. It is worth additionally noted that implied within this form of propaganda is the distinct understanding the sacrifices of the troops that are being “thanked” allows us to enjoy the American way – capitalism, low prices, and a warehouse full of choices. Although none of this is directly printed, the implied levels of meaning are most certainly extant. Likewise, the element of time relates to some other concurrent issues that Lowe’s Home Improvement was facing in and around the time that these handouts were made available. Back in February of 2011, Lowe’s Home Improvement became embroiled in a very public relations debacle that was concentric upon the fact that it chose to pull advertising from the television show “All American Muslim” (Li 1). Although it is difficult to surmise what the underlying cause for this action might have been, it is no secret that Lowe’s Home Improvement knows its target market exceptionally well and is likely trying to market to them by playing off the emotions that they know resonate within this specific demographic (Collison 855). In such a way, Lowe’s timed the Veteran’s Day support handbills at a time when they could fully benefit and arouse the patriotic support of those customers that may have begun to have forgotten about the “All American Muslim” debacle some months earlier. Thirdly, the issue of trigger can be carefully understood to be that of the flag that is represented in the image. However, there are more nuanced meanings of this trigger besides the simple appearance of the flag. Take for instance the fact that the flag is rapidly rippling and appearing to give a great movement in the absence of any known wind. This typifies the action of forward progress, raising the American flag over foreign places; even evoking the memory of Iwo Jima in the process. Similarly, the fact that the flag shows such a great movement and activity as opposed to other images of American flags that have been used for generations also helps to show an indication of the supposed ferocity of the battle that the United States is currently embroiled. A reader might be quick to question why this author has chosen to go into such nuanced understanding of the representation of the flag; however, it should be noted that the bumper sticker is in fact “thanking the troops”. As such, the inclusion of the flag cannot be accepted at face value but must be understood in the military context of the banner. Likewise, just as with the “blood banner” of the Third Reich, emblems and flags have a deeply iconic meaning and representation that almost every member of a given nationality can attribute some form of positive association with. Whereas an image of a soldier might evoke a response that would be less than positive among all shoppers, Lowe’s decided, wisely, to include the image of the flag to evoke the most positive response with relation to this particular marketing campaign. Fourthly, the trust is instilled by means of the triggering mechanism. By presenting an American flag waving briskly in a strong wind with bold capital letters underneath saying “thank you”, the retailer is able to immediately evoke a sense of ethos and trust from the patrons. In so doing, the overall message is wrapped within several layers that are unlikely to be extrapolated and/or dissected by the client and merely accepted at face value based on a form of trust; a trust which is built upon the image acceptance of the flag. As with some of the other analyses which have been performed, the obvious existence of trigger, as related to this particular piece of propaganda, revolves around the use of the flag, the prior anti-Islamic stance exhibited by the retailer with relation to the pulled advertising, and the fact that Veteran’s Day provides an unspoken compunction on the part of the shopper to respond positively to such an act. Although it has been tangentially mentioned earlier in this analysis, it should be further noted that the use of this propaganda by Lowe’s Home Improvement is quite divergent from the use of propaganda by a state actor (Altenhofen 159). In this way, Lowe’s Home Improvement is attempting to increase market share by aligning itself with the values of its shoppers and has little if any vested interest in truly supporting the troops or showing any particular deference or reverence to Veteran’s Day. However, the firm is able to ingeniously utilize the trigger mechanisms that instinctively work to provide agreement and support among their target demographic in a way that they will use these feelings to increase their profit share. Fifthly, with respect to truth, the reader must carefully examine each of the words within the original statement as to determine the overall level of truth that the message implies. For the sake of clarity, the original statement reads, “To honor our armed forces, Lowes will be providing customers will complimentary bumper stickers that offer a simple ‘Thank You’ to our troops. A limited quantity of ‘Thank You’ stickers, with an image of the American flag, will be available in-store during the veterans day weekend.” In this way, the reader should pay careful attention to the actionable words that are given in this very terse but effective public relations statement. “Honor”, “armed forces”, complimentary”, “image of the American flag”, “’THANK YOU’”, and “veteran’s day weekend” all feature most prominently with respect to the statement at hand. These words were not haphazardly thrown around, each was carefully selected to provide a powerful effect that would serve to gain shareholder buy-in and an overall appreciation, not only for the troops and their sacrifice but for the fact that the retailer was willing and able to stand up themselves and recognize this (Yarrow 41). Accordingly, this analysis has worked to dissect the varied levels of meaning that are extant in Lowe’s Veteran’s Day handbill/bumper sticker distribution program. It should be noted that if a single factor of the Five T analysis had pointed to the fact that the program bore the marks of propaganda, it would be difficult to say definitively if this was the case or not. However, since the program has been shown to positively engender the unique traits of propaganda on each of the five metrics, that have been measured, the researcher can say with a great deal of certainty that the program indeed engenders a distinct form of propaganda. Likewise, it should be noted, as this analysis has pointed out, that the form of propaganda that has been engaged in is patently different than that of what a state actor might attempt to foist on its own people. Due to the fact that Lowe’s Home Improvement is selectively targeting the demographic (as well as likely beliefs) that their consumer’s hold, they can be understood to be working to maximize their profit margin through employing such tactics. This does not take away from the effect or the definition of propaganda; however, it is important for the reader to understand that this propaganda can be the result of a government/state actor, an individual, or a business or organization. Works Cited ALTENHOFEN, BRIAN J. "Solace In Symbols: Discovering Cultural Meanings In Symbolic Propaganda." ETC: A Review Of General Semantics 67.2 (2010): 156-163. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. Collins, Ross F. "This Is Your Propaganda, Kids." Journalism History 38.1 (2012): 13-22. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. Collison, David J. "Corporate Propaganda: Its Implications For Accounting And Accountability." Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 16.5 (2003): 853-886. Business Source Premier. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. Li, Shan. "Lowes Faces Backlash over Pulling Ads from All-American Muslim" Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 13 Dec. 2011. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. . Yarrow, Andrew L. "Selling A New Vision Of America To The World." Journal Of Cold War Studies 11.4 (2009): 3-45. Academic Search Complete. Web. 15 Oct. 2012. Read More