This Is Propaganda

Social media creates an environment where propaganda becomes our default mode of expression. Because everyone is a brand. — BRINK media group is re-imagining how brands, causes and artists compete in the oversaturated attention marketplace through original productions and branded entertainment. Website: thisispropaganda.show Instagram: instagram.com/thisispropagandashow Email: propaganda@brink.com — Cohosts: Josh Belhumeur and Malcolm Critcher Story Editor: Matt Decker Producers: Jaclyn Hubersberger and Reed Chandler Additional Audio Engineering: Paul Injeti Original music: Josh Belhumeur — “Big Red Boot.” MSCHF. https://mschf.com/shop/big-red-boot/ “Black Panther (soundtrack).” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_(soundtrack) Bradley, Bill. 2022. “US Advertising Sales Projected to Pass $300 Billion for First Time Ever in 2022.” Adweek. https://www.adweek.com/convergent-tv/us-advertising-sales-projected-to-pass-300-billion-for-first-time-ever-in-2022/ Ferere, Cassell. 2021. “Brand Blasphemy? What Nike’s Move To Sue MSCHF For Lil Nas X ‘Satan Shoes’ Tells Us About Pop Culture.” Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/cassellferere/2021/03/30/nikes-move-to-sue-mschf-for-its-lil-nas-x-satan-shoes-tells-us-about-pop-culture/?sh=58f905dc55fc Huddleston Jr., Tom, and Zachary Green. 2022. “Liquid Death CEO Mike Cessario: We chose 'the dumbest possible name' for water.” CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/26/liquid-death-ceo-mike-cessario-we-chose-the-dumbest-possible-name-for-water.html Museum of Broadcast Communications Encyclopedia of Television. 1997. “Colgate Comedy Hour, The.” Television Academy Interviews. https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/shows/colgate-comedy-hour-the Silbert, Jake. 2021. “MSCHF's At All Costs Clothing Line Plays With Prices.” Highsnobiety. https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/mschf-at-all-costs-clothing-line/ Silbert, Jake. 2021. “MSCHF's Guns 2 Swords took The Met Gala, Thanks to Grimes.” Highsnobiety. https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/mschf-guns-2-swords/ Suess, Jeff. 2017. “Our history: P&G put the 'soap' in 'soap opera.'” Cincinnati Enquirer. https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2017/10/04/our-history-p-g-put-soap-soap-opera/732149001/ Whitten, Sarah. 2023. “Barbie is highest-grossing domestic film release in 2023.” CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/24/barbie-is-highest-grossing-domestic-film-release-in-2023.html “Your Hit Parade.”  Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Your_Hit_Parade

Our discomfort with propaganda puts us on a quest for authenticity, but do we even know what that means anymore? — BRINK media group is re-imagining how brands, causes and artists compete in the oversaturated attention marketplace through original productions and branded entertainment. Website: thisispropaganda.show Instagram: instagram.com/thisispropagandashow Email: propaganda@brink.com — Cohosts: Josh Belhumeur and Malcolm Critcher Story Editor: Matt Decker Producers: Jaclyn Hubersberger and Reed Chandler Additional Audio Engineering: Paul Injeti Original music: Josh Belhumeur — Dember, Greg. 2018. “Eleven Metamodern Methods in the Arts.” Medium. https://medium.com/what-is-metamodern/after-postmodernism-eleven-metamodern-methods-in-the-arts-767f7b646cae Dreith, Ben. 2023. “Siegel+Gale creates "authentic" branding for US Army.” Dezeen. https://www.dezeen.com/2023/04/06/us-army-branding-siegelgale/ Flight, Thomas. 2023. “Why Do Movies Feel So Different Now?” YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xEi8qg266g McPherson, Steve. 2013. “Image Is Nothing: Grant Hill and His Amazing '90s Sprite Ads.” Grantland. https://grantland.com/the-triangle/image-is-nothing-grant-hill-and-his-amazing-90s-sprite-ads/ “OK Soda: The strange, nihilistic Nineties soda that only lasted seven months.” 2022. MeTV. https://www.metv.com/stories/ok-soda-the-strange-nihilistic-nineties-soda-that-only-lasted-seven-months Resnick, Brian. 2017. “Trump supporters know Trump lies. They just don't care.” Vox. https://www.vox.com/2017/7/10/15928438/fact-checks-political-psychology Salvanto, Anthony, Kabir Khanna, Jennifer De Pinto, and Fred Backus. 2023. “CBS News poll finds Trump's big lead grows, as GOP voters dismiss indictments.” CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-poll-indictments-2023-08-20/ Schulman, Michael. 2014. “Everything is Going to Be OK.” Believer Magazine. https://www.thebeliever.net/everything-is-going-to-be-ok/ Sorgatz, Rex. 2022. “25 Highest-Rated Shows of the '90s.” TV Insider. https://www.tvinsider.com/list/highest-rated-shows-of-the-90s/#show2 “Stress in America 2022: Concerned for the future, beset by inflation.” 2022. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2022/concerned-future-inflation Wallace, David F. 2000. “David Foster Wallace on John McCain: ‘The Weasel, Twelve Monkeys, and the Shrub.’” Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/david-foster-wallace-on-john-mccain-the-weasel-twelve-monkeys-and-the-shrub-194272/

Propaganda helps usher in a new form of tribalism and the modern culture war. — BRINK media group is re-imagining how brands, causes and artists compete in the oversaturated attention marketplace through original productions and branded entertainment. Website: thisispropaganda.show Instagram: instagram.com/thisispropagandashow Email: propaganda@brink.com — Cohosts: Josh Belhumeur and Malcolm Critcher Story Editor: Matt Decker Producers: Jaclyn Hubersberger and Reed Chandler Additional Audio Engineering: Paul Injeti Original music: Josh Belhumeur — Bernays, Edward L. 2004. Propaganda. Ig Publishing. “#BrandsGetReal: Brands Creating Change in the Conscious Consumer Era.” 2019. Sprout Social. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/data/brands-creating-change/ Brooks, Khristopher J. 2023. “Ron DeSantis threatens Anheuser-Busch over Bud Light marketing campaign with Dylan Mulvaney.” CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/florida-ron-desantis-bud-light-dylan-mulvaney-anheuser-busch/ “Corporate Social Responsibility: A Brief History.” Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals. https://accp.org/resources/csr-resources/accp-insights-blog/corporate-social-responsibility-brief-history/ Disney Parks. 2022. “Write The Next Chapter Of Your Life With Disney | Storyliving by Disney.” YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsvA8ZkdL4Q Dockterman, Eliana. 2016. “Budweiser Just Renamed Its Beer 'America.'” Time. https://time.com/4324384/budweiser-america-rename-beer/ “The Dove Self-Esteem Project.” Dove. https://www.dove.com/us/en/dove-self-esteem-project.html Ellul, Jacques. 1965. Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes. Vintage Books. https://ratical.org/ratville/AoS/Propaganda-JE-Vintage1973.pdf Etcoff, Nancy, Susie Orbach, Jennifer Scott, and Heidi D'Agostino. 2004. “THE REAL TRUTH ABOUT BEAUTY: A GLOBAL REPORT”  Findings of the Global Study on Women, Beauty, and Well-Being.” Club of Amsterdam. https://www.clubofamsterdam.com/contentarticles/52%20Beauty/dove_white_paper_final.pdf Farhi, Paul. 1991. “THE ORIGINAL SPIN DOCTOR.” The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1991/11/23/the-original-spin-doctor/109f782a-5964-4d99-94f7-b4b666bc1f74/ “15 years of Axe Effect: the world's most sexist advertising campaign.” 2011. This is not ADVERTISING. https://thisisnotadvertising.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/15-years-of-axe-effect-the-worlds-most-sexist-advertising-campaign/ Giardina, Henry. 2023. “Bud Light Has Always Been Super Queer, Actually.” INTO more. https://www.intomore.com/culture/bud-light-has-always-been-super-queer-actually/ Klee, Miles. 2023. “‘Woke’ Companies Don’t Go Broke, and the Profits Prove It.” Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/woke-companies-broke-profits-1234710724/ Luttrell, Andy. 2016. “Cognitive Dissonance Theory: A Crash Course.” YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y17YaZRRvY “Making a Difference in Racial Equity.” 2020. Walmart.https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2020/06/05/making-a-difference-in-racial-equity Morel, Lindsey. 2009. “The Effectiveness of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty in Terms of Society and the Brand.” SURFACE at Syracuse University. https://surface.syr.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1479&context=honors_capstone Olson, Alexandra, Kate Brumback, and Matt Ott. 2020. “'A slap in the face:' Goya faces boycott over Trump praise.” AP News. https://apnews.com/article/02dc77e29f848bebbc4e1434df056864 Perjurer, Kevin. 2022. “Disney Channel's Theme: A History Mystery.” YouTube: Defunctland. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_rjBWmc1iQ “21st Century Ad Campaigns: See all Top 15 Winners and eBook.” 2015. Ad Age. https://adage.com/article/news/advertising-age-s-21st-century-ads-top-15-ad-campaigns/296525 Wamsley, Laurel. 2023. “In a new video, Dylan Mulvaney says Bud Light never reached out to her amid backlash.” NPR. https://www.npr.org/2023/06/30/1185356673/trans-influencer-dylan-mulvaney-bud-light-backlash Youn, Soo. 2018. “Nike sales booming after Colin Kaepernick ad, invalidating critics.” ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Business/nike-sales-booming-kaepernick-ad-invalidating-critics/story?id=59957137

Delving into the 1960s social upheavals, the podcast explores the rejection of materialism and rise of radical individualism. It discusses how advertising shifted to selling ideas, shaping consumer behavior and personal identity. Lifestyle branding and emotional investment in brands are highlighted, reflecting on the blurred lines between personal identity and propaganda.

Edward Bernays, an influential figure in marketing, discusses using propaganda to revolutionize Western culture. The podcast explores how propaganda evolved post-war, shaped public behavior, manipulated female empowerment for cigarette sales, and influenced desires and beliefs through storytelling.

Creative Directors and cultural theorists Josh & Malcolm uncover the marketing profession’s delusions about the origins, techniques and cultural impact of the work they do. Follow them through an immersive narrative investigating how propaganda became the foundation of all consumer marketing, its omnipresence and evolution across generations of media, and the consequences we are facing today. You’ll never think of propaganda – or marketing – the same way again.