Example 5: Ford VS Tundra

A great example I found of propaganda is through car sales commercials, specifically between Ford and Toyota. “Advertisers want to generate increased consumption of their commercial products and services by using a variety of forms of mass media and digital media to persuade readers, viewers, users or listeners.” (Hobbs 2) While viewing advertisements on television, we see companies battling with each other to prove that their product is better then another companies. For example, the Ford F150 advertises 3 different models, one being a 283-horsepower 3.5 liter V6, which reaches up to 18 miles per gallon in the city and 25 miles per gallon on the highway. The Tundra on the other hand only has two engine options. Base model for the Tundra is 310-hp 4.6-liter V8, which returns up to 15 miles per gallon in the city and 19 miles per gallon on the highway. This sort of propaganda is called “card-stacking”. Card stacking propaganda is a way to manipulate information so that one product looks better then another. In this case, Ford is trying to beat out Tundra to get people to buy their new truck.