Advertising vs. Propaganda

As an advertising major, I feel as if I must defend advertising and say that there is a difference between propaganda and advertising. Although many people may think that both are evil ways to persuade people to buy things that are falsely presented, I believe that advertising is a less harsh version of propaganda. I feel as if a lot of propaganda is in fact, a lie, and very in your face about how it is presented. For example, war propaganda, is extremely persuasive because it is aggressive and points Uncle Sam directly at your face. Some advertisements may do that, but they are convincing you to buy a certain type of cereal, that is probably good for you, rather than attempting to convince you to join the army and possibly get killed. Both advertising and propaganda could lie to you, but the difference is the way you feel if you do not buy what the poster is selling. If you don't buy that certain cereal, your life is probably not affected in the long run, whereas if you pass up that opportunity to buy war bonds, you may feel guilty for a really long time if your country ends up losing the war.