Examples of Propaganda Techniques: Transfer

These are examples of the use of "transfer" in propaganda - both political and commercially.

The images, which are positive and/or heroic, are attached to concepts or product the propagandist wants to sell to you.

Notice that this image of Hitler is shot from below, which makes him seem "larger than life', like a giant, and the sky above makes him appear as if he were from Mount Olympus, god-like.

And we do it in our own country as well and on both sides of the political spectrum. Here, President Barack Obama is affiliated with the word "Hope", which implies a better future from the political and economic meltdown of the last four years.

Here is another image of Hitler mounted on a steed which implies a heroic stance in life. This is used to connect heroism and the heroic ideal in the mind of the voter with Adolf Hitler.

This implies that if you are a "real guy" you don't use PCs. PCs are for wimps.

Transfer:

Transfer is another of the seven main propaganda terms first analyzed by the Institute for Propaganda Analysis in 1938. It is a technique used during war time, political campaigns and in advertising. It is a technique, frequently used with images, to link one item with another item in the consciousness of the audience. The second item can have either positive or negative connotations. The technique is to link the primary item (a political candidate, a product a company is trying to sell to the public, or an idea a government is trying to sell to its people) with another item that has a particular quality – again, either good or bad. In this way, the two items are linked in the minds of the viewer. By linking a candidate with the symbol of the American flag or fighter jets, the viewers will unconsciously link the candidate with the qualities associated with the American flag (patriotism) or with fighter jets (strong, forceful, vigilant). But it can also be used negatively as well: by linking a political candidate with the image of an snake oil salesman, the viewer will unconsciously link the candidate with the qualities associated with a crook.

In advertising, the ad agency will use an image as a metaphor to establish a link in the viewer’ mind between the image (usually of an admired object) and the product the ad agency is trying to sell. An example of this is a John Deere commercial in which the product, a red tractor, is being driven by a strong, virile, good looking man dressed in a red jacket. The red jacket connects the man with the red tractor. The viewers will unconsciously link the red tractor with the qualities of the strong, virile, good looking, red jacket-wearing man; the audience will also make the connection that if they drive the John Deere tractor they too will be like the man – strong, virile, and good looking.

The best way to counteract the propaganda technique of transference is by analyzing the item under consideration (the candidate, the product or idea) on its own merits, independent of our emotional reactions to the attached images.