Macey Klipp
Professor Coriaty
JOUR 270
02 May 2019
The Greatest Show
“Oh, this is the greatest show. It’s everything you ever want, it’s everything you ever
need, and it’s right here in front of you” (The Greatest Show, 2017). In 2017, “The Greatest
Showman” reintroduced the world to P.T Barnum as a entrepreneur and frontman of “The
Greatest Show”, a collection of the world’s greatest wonders and talents. In becoming a
household name at the time, he also played a huge role in the early days of public relations. He
used propaganda techniques to draw huge crowds, and create a new wave of live entertainment.
P.T Barnum established a life for himself and his family by creating a one of a kind experience
for the general public. P.T Barnum and his traveling show amazed the world by using
propaganda for advertising, enhanced his show by the use of one way communication, and
created a controversial public image for himself, overall becoming an important figure to the
public relations profession.
Propaganda is typically used to promote and publicize political views. The most famous
example being the fictional Uncle Sam asking for people to sign up for the military draft.
However, this technique can be used in arguments and debates, theater, music, film, and most
importantly advertising/marketing. In attempt to advertise his show, P.T Barnum turned to the
propaganda technique of glittering generalities to enhance how his message would read to the
public. “Barnum used flowery language and exaggeration to promote his various attractions in
an age when the public was hungry for entertainment” (Wilcox, 2014). The use of glittering
generalities or the flowery language essentially just adds dimension to the message to make
headlines. His acts included a bearded lady, exceptional strength, dwarfism, and excessive facial
hair (Mcgill, 2017). All of these were debuted as human exhibits to show off their talents and
abnormalities. “We propose that his prior circus knowledge, skills gained by his associations
with a relatively small network of circus leaders and ability to figure out how to scale-up existing
