Marketing, Advertising and Propaganda

Although marketing and advertising may seem tremendously similar, they have two different meanings. Marketing is an activity used to satisfy customer wants and needs. Marketing compared to advertising does not solely deal with persuading customers, but it may also stimulate a demand. Propaganda is rumors that could potentially be spread that may harm a company or the products in which they are trying to market. The “war on terror” demonstrates how propaganda can be used through the media. Many posters were created when the war on terror began, some of which read “don’t discuss” with the statue of liberty pointing his finger towards you, with a serious face on. Most of the propaganda that was created during this time of war showed the U.S being honest compared to Bin Laden whose messages were filled with hatred. An example of this propaganda found on globalissues.org, “Rise of terrorism in the Middle East, beyond, they hate our freedoms.” It is evident how easily someone’s views can be altered or demonstrates self censorship, not only with propaganda, but with marketing and advertising as well. It is possible for competitive companies to come out with an advertisement discriminating against your product, showing many cons to purchasing it. What comes to mind when you hear marketing, advertising, and propaganda? Is there anymore aspects you can think of when defining each of these words?