How Operation Christmas, leaflets in North Korea and CIA pop put a creative twist on propaganda

A decade ago, Jose Miguel Sokoloff came up with an audacious advertising campaign.

The brief, which came directly from the Colombian military, was to win over hardened armed guerrillas in the jungle.

His weapon of choice? Christmas lights.

Soldiers in camouflage strung up bright blue lights in large trees at strategic points in the jungle, with a large sign directed at the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

It read: “If Christmas can come to the jungle, you can come home. Demobilise. At Christmas, everything is possible.”

Dubbed “Operation Christmas”, the campaign was not alone in adopting a more creative approach to propaganda — from leaflets on the Korean peninsula to rumours of CIA pop songs to bring down the Iron…