Can you Handle the Mint?

The question posed today, is what propaganda have you read lately? When reading a magazine, or a newspaper, or even a book, not many people think, "Wow! This ad is just feeding me with propaganda." Before today, I never would have even known that propaganda could be almost everywhere. As far as I understood, it was a form of news meant to create a dislike for the enemy in times of war (that may not be the best way to phrase that, but it is the only way I can think to explain it). What I learned today is that propaganda is just about everything that attempts to persuade your opinion or your behavior rather than just give you the news. Propaganda can be found in any form of media. It can be anything that you look at, a billboard, a magazine ad or article, a television commercial or show, and even a book that you read. I am constantly reading books and, when I get the opportunity to, I watch TV, but I have never thought about the propaganda that I am consuming. Looking on it now, I see that many of the commercials I see attempt to make the consumer believe that their product is ultimately the best in the market. My main concern is that although I do not consider what I view propaganda because I would like to believe that I am not so easily persuaded, but the truth is, who isn't? I may not give the ads in, well let's say, Vanity Fair a second look, because I know for a fact I can hardly afford the 400 page magazine, let alone the clothing and products advertised within, but I have glanced back at products that I would not normally buy that are advertised in other magazines. The second glance to me does not mean much, but when discussing the topic of propaganda I learned that that "second glance" is exactly what the advertisers were aiming for. I may not be the target market for that product, but the more times I glance back at the advertisement for that product, the more likely I am to go out and buy it, because the ad is persuading my opinioning of the product within it. For instance, this website, The Curiously Strong Mint is the ad gallery for the print ads for Altoids (branded "The Curiously Strong Mint"). These ads draw my attention, because although I would not normally purchase these mints, looking at these ads makes me consider purchasing the product because the ads are so entertaining. I hate to say it, but what I have learned today is that with all the media I consume everyday, propaganda is within all of it and there is probably no way around it.