9. Propaganda in Advertising(/PR)

"Happy peanuts soar over chocolate-covered mountaintops
And waterfalls of caramel,
Prancing nougat in the meadow sings a song of satisfaction
To-o the wo-orld."

This thirty-second Snickers advertisment uses several efficient propaganda techniques to make it memorable and effective at selling its product:

Common man: The advertisement's main character is at the desk in a drab (grey-filled), fluorescent-lit place (a carpet store, on closer inspection), a setting seeming to represent the boredom of all office workers. Snickers is thereby represented as a obtainable object that suddenly brings unexpected song and joy (a smile on his face) into that familiar environment to an average schmo.

Repetition: The song in use here is a very good example of a "hook"ing jingle- melodious and simple (musically consisting of two similar lines). Besides being run for an extended period of time, an almost identical version of this commercial was made, to consolidate the memory of the jingle through repeated runs. Furthermore, within the commercial itself, the office worker repeats the "the world" at the end of the song, to emphasize the "global" appeal Snickers is trying to convey.

Transfer (virtue word): The lyrics are an extended metaphor in which the ingredients of the candy bar are likened to an exalted landscape of a paradise. The flying peanuts, caramel waterfall, chocolate snow, etc. are clearly meant for the audience to associate positive feelings about nature onto the product. This positivity is reinforced through frequent virtue words: "enjoy", "happy", and "satisfaction" being the obvious, while other words are chosen for their subtler positive connotation ("soar" instead of "fly", "prancing" instead of "walking" or "trotting").