Objectives

Students will:

• Explain how advertising can make or break a president's image
• Understand how different persuasion and propaganda techniques can turn a presidency or a presidential election around, used effectively
• Analyze the positive, negative, and interesting aspects of the presidents featured in the video
• Demonstrate an understanding of persuasion and propaganda techniques by developing positive or negative mini-campaigns for the assigned presidents
• Apply knowledge of persuasion, propaganda and the presidents to develop storyboards for 30-second TV spots

Time required

This lesson will require two class sessions of 50-60 minutes each.

Materials

Initial Motivation

Have students view The American President video, "Balance of Power."  Make sure that they take notes while watching the video. 

Procedures

1. Tell the students that they are going to form PR firms to create storyboards for 30-second TV spots that will either promote or have people reject the presidents mentioned in the video. Offer these questions as springboards into the discussion:
1. How could 30-second TV spots have helped Taft?
2. How could 30-second TV spots have promoted positive aspects of Polk's war?
3. How could 30-second TV spots have provided persuasion and/or propaganda regarding a president's perspective on the balance of power in government?
4. What are the differences between persuasion and propaganda?
    
2. Review the main points of TV advertising:
1. Target audience
2. Purpose of the ad
3. Intended message
4. Individual speaking and/or voiceover (also background music)
5. Persuasion and Propaganda techniques
    
3. Divide students into four groups; each group is a PR firm.  Have one member from each firm draw the name of one of these presidents:  James Madison, James Polk, William Taft or Bill Clinton.
4. Assign each firm to one of these two stances: positive or negative. 
5. Have the PR firms complete their presidential attributes sheets. Encourage students to use their notes from the video and inaugural addresses.
6. Have each PR firm identify three to five persuasion and propaganda techniques that could be used to promote its position (positive or negative) on the assigned president. (If necessary, have students review the persuasion and propaganda techniques sheet.)  The students should discuss why these techniques would be appropriate given the information they gathered on their attributes sheets.
7. Make sure that the PR firms develop the following fundamental components of their projects before drafting their spots:
    
1. Target audience 
2. Purpose of the ad
3. Message of the ad
4. Interest value of the advertising spot
5. Convincing nature of the spot
6. The president's position on balance of power within government
7. At least two persuasion and/or propaganda techniques that would be most effective
    
8. Distribute the storyboard handouts and have the firms create rough, and then final drafts of their 30-second TV spots.  (You will have to give each firm multiple copies of the handout.)  Following this, they should draw in their storyboard squares.  Below are more detailed instructions for you to provide to students:
   
   For the rough draft
1. Create the text for the 30-second spot by filling-in the written sections of the storyboards, determining the number of squares needed for the entire spot.
2. For each storyboard, sketch a scene in the illustration section to correspond with the written section. 
3. Verify that all criteria for the spot have been addressed (see step 7). 
4. Record the voiceover, timing the recording in order to make any adjustments regarding adding or subtracting information; there are only 30 seconds available.
   
   For the finished draft
1. Make the final storyboards in fine tip black marker.
2. Practice the presentation.
    
9. Have the PR firms present their storyboards and play their 30-second taped spots.  After listening to each spot, ask students to rate the spot in terms of the following:
    
1. Purpose of the 30-second spot
2. Message delivered
3. Persuasion and propaganda devices used
4. Interest value of the spot
5. Convincing nature of the spot
    
10. After all the spots have been presented, hold a class discussion on the effectiveness of the spots or what could be changed to make the spots more interesting.
     
11. As a personal evaluation, have each student write a journal entry in the format of  "I learned" statements.  The entries should address what students learned about:
1. The presidents in the 30-second spots.
2. How the presidents could have been helped or hindered by these PR firms.
3. How propaganda drives publicity and public opinion.
    
12. Debrief the lesson after the journal writing concludes.

Assessment

Evaluate students' performance on their group work with respect to the level of completion of tasks as outlined, creativity, and presentation skills.   Additionally, the journal entries should also be factored into the final grades for this lesson.

Additional Resources

Dr. Dee Storey is a professor of teacher education at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan.

Persuasion and Propaganda Techniques and Examples

Avant Garde – On the cutting edge, the very latest, the most innovative, ahead of its time.

Bandwagon – Everyone is doing this, everyone wants to do this, everyone is wearing this.  Join us and be like everyone.

Endorsement – A famous individual speaks up in favor of an individual person, issue or product.  Bill Cosby endorses Jello products.

Family Welfare – To make people worry about whether their kids and other family members are safe, fed, clean, and have a possibility of a good future.  To make people feel and think that their kids and other family members are going to be safe, fed, clean, and have a possibility of a good future as a result of someone's effort.

Humor – Making good-natured fun for ad viewers so that they remember the product in a cheerful manner.  A lot of people think the little dog on the Taco Bell commercial is humorous. (Note: A lot of people also find these commercials racist.)

Muckraking – To go into a person's past and drag up anything negative they may or may have not done. A 50-year-old candidate may have been arrested for drunk driving when he/she was 17 and today, someone could really blow that out of proportion and say that that person has a drinking problem. A person could have had a messy divorce and their opponents could say that they are unstable and how could they run a country if they couldn't hold a family together.

Negative Association – If you hang out with people who do drugs (even if you don't) folks will assume you are using drugs.

Plain Folks – Everyday people doing everyday things just like you and me.  They're not into designer clothing or fancy stuff, they're into family and basic needs.

Positive Association – If you hang out with people who volunteer in the community and do good deeds (even if you don't) folks will think you're a good person. If you use a certain product that is healthy, you will be healthy.

Red Herring – On the surface, one thing appears to be advertised, while in reality, another thing is being advertised.  Beer companies provide scholarships to obtain a good image, yet they are still selling beer in their commercials.  Cigarette companies create advertisements saying that it is unlawful for children to smoke and we should discourage children from smoking. However, they are still advertising cigarettes in their commercials.

Repetition – To say the name of the individual, product, or issue over and over again all through the commercial.  The Libby Company used to say, "Libby's, Libby's, Libby's on the label, label, label. You will like it, like it, like it on your table, table, table."

Slogans or Nicknames – Catchy and memorable short statements.  Campaign buttons for Dwight D. Eisenhower read, "I like Ike."  Clinton called himself "The Comeback Kid."

Snob Appeal – Makes you want to own expensive designer clothes, live in 'the right' neighborhood, drive 'the most exclusive' vehicle, and back 'the most prestigious' candidate.

Song – A tune that sticks in people's minds and they associate it with a product or individual.  Oscar Mayer's song begins with a little boy singing, "My bologna has a first name it's O-S-C-A-R."

Statistics – Using numbers to get your point across, e.g., "4 out of 5 doctors say..."  What if only 5 doctors were surveyed?  Numbers can be misleading.

Testimonial – Someone who knows the product and has used it makes a statement about the product.  A testimonial can be about a person someone knows and they explain why this individual is or is not a good leader.

Underdog – Someone or some issue that doesn't seem to have much chance of success. An underdog may lose, but underdogs have worked very hard and come out on top.

Word Play – Nestea says their tea has honestea .  Stouffers says their frozen pasta dinners have pastabilities.  A water filtration system says that they make water WH2Olesome.

Note:   Many other persuasion and propaganda techniques may be used. 

Presidential Attributes Sheet

President: _______________________________ Your position:  negative or positive (circle one)