What are the primary goals of advertising? To connect with us, gain our trust, spark curiosity, create a sense of urgency, all to invite us to buy whatever they’re selling. An advertising campaign is an organized course of action that promotes a product, service, or ideology, using a series of messages that share a single idea or theme which make up part of an integrated marketing plan.
Spoken and unspoken promises are included. We see it all the time, on billboards, in magazines, newspapers, on television. We’re pelted with ads on our computers. All those little algorithms that have figured out our weakest areas and voila! Visual crack cocaine to tempt us to buy what we don’t need, won’t use, and never wanted in the first place.
Propaganda works in much the same way. It is biased information, misleading in nature and used to promote a particular political cause or point of view. Skewing stats and facts, texting out of context, pictures photoshopped. Add in coercion, intimidation, and deception to drive toward a goal. If anyone raises a red flag that grooming is going on, they are cancelled, groundless but impassioned accusations spread on social media, unleashing the floodgates of threats and attack. Given no voice, only one side is heard.
Some fortunate souls are born with the critical thinking abilities. Most “follow the crowd” “go with the flow” and/or “don’t want to rock the boat”, never realizing they are treading water while sharks circle below. The frightening truth is every decision we make bears responsibility — and consequences. Some come swiftly. Others are long-term and deadly to the next generation.
God offers protection and instruction from false advertising and propaganda. When a person accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord of their life, God gives that individual a very special gift – the Holy Spirit. Each time that person reads Scripture and seeks God’s point of view about what’s happening in the world, the Spirit brings light, clarity, instruction, warning, and change from the inside out. Life is precious. Each man and woman is made in the image of God. No human being is an accident.
Satan was in the Garden. He recognized an opportunity to groom Eve and seduce Adam into being deaf to God’s warning. Mankind has not changed character. We are selfish. We want to rule our own lives. And rule over others. Some use force. Some use advertising and propaganda to groom us to think wrong is right and right is wrong.
For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. Volume, threats, and malicious contempt do not come from a foundation of strength or truth. It is the time for critical thinking.