William Boyle, “Comeback Clothes” Radio Propaganda
William Boyle
Prof. RobbGrieco
COM416: Propaganda
15 February 2023
“Comeback Clothes” Radio Propaganda
Upon visiting “Do Something” I looked through the various options I could create my own propaganda around. Certain subjects did not grasp my attention because I did not feel comfortable with making propaganda centered on the topic. Some subjects I did not find appropriate for me. “Power to the period” was one that stood out as a great cause but I do not relate with it. Their purpose is to not waste period products and to donate them to those in need. After continuing to look, I found a subject that I related with and connected with. I decided on “Comeback Clothes” because my whole life as I have gotten older I have donated my older clothes to people in need. My parents stressed that somebody, somewhere, would love to have them. This was a subject I felt comfortable working with because as I stated, I related with it a lot and I wanted to create propaganda for the cause.
“Comeback Clothes” mission is to try to provide as many people with clothes as they can. As they say, “Approximately 95% of all used clothing, footwear, and other household fabric products, such as sheets and towels, can be reused or recycled, yet only 15% of reusable textiles are recycled.” This helped me build a foundation for my propaganda. In their “solution” portion they state, “all recyclable materials, textile reuse and recycling has the second-highest potential for reducing greenhouse gasses.” After discovering this valuable information I began to craft my propaganda and formulate what I wanted it to become.
The word propaganda always carried a negative connotation with me and I thought it was interesting to try to make propaganda that was for the better interest of people, rather than Nazi propaganda for example. That aside I knew I wanted to make something where I could be creative because I always gravitate towards that. The idea of creating a radio ad sounded perfect for my ideas and stood out to me because I always remembered radio ads from when I would be driving with my dad in the car. An ad for something like “comeback clothes” would be perfect for the radio because it can be short, sweet, and effective.
Once I knew what I wanted to create, I knew I would need a script. I wanted my script to be short and concise. I did not want it to be too long because radio ads are never long and I wanted the pace to be quick because radio ads are always talking fast. I broke my script down into three bullets so as I was editing my radio audio it would have a nice flow that made it seem like one take. My first bullet was: Hello valued listeners! Do you have old clothes you no longer wear? Clothes that are too small? Maybe they’re outdated? Instead of throwing them away we have the solution for you. Then I led to my second bullet. Hundreds of people struggle to provide enough clothes for themselves and their families, and with your help listener we can change that! And lastly my third bullet, Would you want someone to come to your side and help put clothes on your back? How would you feel if you knew hundreds of pieces of clothing were thrown away because it was too inconvenient to donate them? That stops now, call 401–555–7777 to donate now. It’s an easy process and all it requires is for you to drop them off. Thats 401–555–7777 to donate now!
Some of my creative choices in recording my ad were I wanted to make sure it was as realistic as possible. I wanted the listeners to think that it could be a real ad playing through their cars radio as they drive down the highway. I increased the pitch of my voice to make it sound less tone deaf and sped up the pace to keep listeners engaged. As I continue through the script I make sure to restate what I have been saying so the listeners do not miss anything. Restating things like how important it is that they donate, and the number to call so they can donate. I also chose the thumbnail image that I did because I wanted to produce an old timey radio feel with the ad (like an ad that would play in your car’s radio.)
Luckily I have a little experience in recording and editing commentary so I knew what I was capable of doing and not doing with my materials. As I stated previously I created a bulleted script which I followed as my ad continued. Once each portion was created I merged them all together to create something cohesive. I wanted to add a filter over my audio to make it sound like something from the 60’s but the materials that I was using did not have those capabilities. After combining my best takes I researched images for my thumbnail. Once I found something I was happy with I added it and called it good.
In my script writing process I wanted to add many moments of attacking listeners’ emotions and trying to make them feel like they were not doing enough for their community. Adding sentences like “Hundreds of people struggle to provide enough clothes for themselves and their families, and with your help listener we can change that” and “Would you want someone to come to your side and help put clothes on your back? How would you feel if you knew hundreds of pieces of clothing were thrown away because it was too inconvenient to donate them?” Were added for the sole reason to hopefully invoke enough emotion to create a change. I knew from the start I wanted to focus on pathos because I think it is one of the most accessible ways to manipulate someone’s opinions. Relating to family and trying to put the listener in someone else’s shoes are ways in which I tried to make my propaganda effective. In recent class readings, it addressed things such as “simplify information and activate strong emotions” which are my focuses. I simplified the information by making it seem like either you are helping, or you aren’t, and if you aren’t helping, you should be. I also neglected statistics because that could get confusing in a face paced ad. Additionally I added details like it being an easy process to donate because most people are inherently lazy and can not be bothered to do such simple yet impactful things.
The focus I selected was one that I related with and believed in. I wanted to share “comeback clothes” through creating a radio ad. I accomplished this by developing a script that was ripe with pathos and simple information for the point to get across to listeners. I added a fast paced style to the ad to grasp listeners attention better. As my final product was left uploading to my computer I was satisfied with my propaganda creation because I believe it can be effective in getting “comeback clothes” more success.
