Political advertising: why is it so boring?

Abstract

Most analysis of political advertising questions how it matches up to the normative standard of providing information to voters. It tends to treat advertising as a core, and often debased, resource for deliberation. However, advertising as a form is less suited to complex information and more to engagement of interest. Despite this, political advertising normally is both constructed and analysed as information carriers. While commercial advertising attracts interest through pleasure and popular discourse, political advertising remains wedded to information. The persuasive strategies of political and commercial advertising are marked as much by dissimilarity and similarity, the former aiming at plausibility and the latter at pleasure. The article analyses Party Election Broadcasts in the UK over two general elections, according to a scheme which elicits both the informational content and its aesthetic and emotional appeals. Both the analysis design and the underlying rationale may have application beyond the UK. They help answer the question: why does political advertising seem so dull and so bad to so many people?

Exploring and consolidating the brand personality elements of the political leader

“…Political brands have the potential of establishing "a basis for long term loyalty in an environment where products are fairly fluid" (Needham, 2006: 180) based on the voters' connection to the political brand of the political leader and the party. If voters are engaged with as consumers, then the connection developed based on the political brand of the leader can lead to parties consolidating the affiliation and support of the voters (Pich and Dean, 2015;Scammell and Langer, 2006). Once such affiliation and support are set in place, the political leader can further cement the connection by positioning their communications to their affiliates and prospective in a manner which the former and latter feel relevant.…”

Hear no evil—see no evil: political advertising in Ireland

“…There are mixed views in the academic literature about the impact of political advertising on the quality of political debate and about whether a relaxation of an advertising ban would enhance or diminish such debate. Given the power of the broadcast medium, there is validity in seeing ‘political advertising as a stimulant to voter engagement’ (Scammell and Langer, : p. 763). Moreover, in terms of a widely held view that equates political advertising with negativity, two academic experts concluded that ‘international comparative research suggests that the predominance of negativity is a peculiarly US phenomenon’ (Scammell and Langer, : p. 765).…”

“…Given the power of the broadcast medium, there is validity in seeing ‘political advertising as a stimulant to voter engagement’ (Scammell and Langer, : p. 763). Moreover, in terms of a widely held view that equates political advertising with negativity, two academic experts concluded that ‘international comparative research suggests that the predominance of negativity is a peculiarly US phenomenon’ (Scammell and Langer, : p. 765). Indeed, numerous studies question whether negative advertising is actually a winning strategy or whether voters simply find it off‐putting (Miskin and Grant, ).…”

“…Scammell and Langer have argued that television is now the predominant means of political communication and that even in regimes where paid spots are prohibited, the PPB is the ‘single most important direct address to voters’ (Scammell and Langer, : p. 764). It follows that denying lobby groups broadcasting advertising access—even in the limited area of PPBs—is a form of communication discrimination and has real implications for the range and quality of access that these groups and organizations have to the public.…”

"Amerikanizacija" Kampanje U Hrvatskom Dnevnom Tisku: Izbori 2007.

“…U okviru drugoga pristupa teoretičari političko oglašava-nje po svojoj naravi razlikuju od komercijalnog (McNair, 2003.;Scammell i Langer, 2006.). Velika uloga novca na tom područ-ju smanjuje jednakost prilika i pristup političkom procesu, a za razliku od drugih roba, politikom se ne nastoji pružiti neposredno i neodgođeno zadovoljstvo publici.…”