Events & Issues
New Delhi, 20 January 2014
Political
Advertising
SALESMANSHIP VS
POLICIES
By Dr S.Saraswathi
(Former Director,
ICSSR, New Delhi)
Media reports mention names of some big advertising agencies
with which political parties are busy negotiating handling of their publicity for
the big battle 2014. Evidently, the
ensuing General Election is going to be the most interesting electoral fight since
the days of Internal Emergency of mid-1970s. The advent of vigorous competitive
‘political advertising’ on a scale never before witnessed has already been
unfolded.
The rise of regional/State political parties has increased
the number of contestants in the field. This has intensified the spirit of competition
and the need for aggressive political marketing. It has confirmed that
coalition governments are unavoidable at the Centre. And this has elevated
small parties also with just one digit membership in the Lok Sabha as important
players in national politics. Their stake in Parliament election has grown high
with an assured role in coalition formation either by the Congress or the BJP, and
also a prospective future for a federation of parties that may ascend to power without
any national party. The political climate is indeed a challenge for political
advertising machinery to market their product, that is, their client.
The success of the AAP in Delhi has brought a powerful contender to
challenge not only established parties but also some important leaders. Opinion
surveys suggest that the AAP can upset the calculations hitherto made by both
the UPA and NDA and also by the invisible and mysterious Third and Fourth
Fronts.
Hence, all those in the electoral battle are compelled to
invigorate their campaigns with fresh ideas and sophisticated tools. Professionalism
is required in campaign management. The text of propaganda materials need to be
judiciously prepared and communicated with caution and conviction. Indeed, parties
are undergoing a tough test in salesmanship.
The US
is considered the mother of “invention” of political advertising as a tool for
communication at all levels for all purposes. It connects citizens/voters on
one side and office seekers/candidates on the other. Recall that the television
campaigns of Eisenhower in 1952 are still remembered for effectively transforming
his image as a military leader to a peacetime President. Thenceforth,
television became the most important medium of political advertising.
Political advertising as a distinct form of political
activity is rather new in India
though all parties have always been propagating their policies and views. It
becomes very active for short periods before elections and generally remains
dormant at other times. The product to be advertised may be an individual or a
political party or a group of parties who are members of an alliance, or an
ideology/policy.
As in many other countries, conducting elections to
political offices, political advertisement began in India in the form of putting
posters and banners, distributing handbills and pamphlets, and addressing
public meetings. Poster wars sometimes end
in offensive pictures and also lead to disfigurement of public and private
walls in many places despite the ban imposed under the Model Code of Conduct.
The first formal political advertising agency was engaged by
the Congress in the early 1980s by Rajiv Gandhi. Propaganda-in-charge was an
important person in many parties. Jayalalitha started her political career as
Propaganda Secretary in the ADMK formed by MGR. Communist parties in India always
had propaganda cells to communicate their policies to the people.
Catchy slogans like “Garibi
Hatao”, and “Democracy in danger”, and image building strategies used
in “Feel good factor”, “India shining” and “Bharat Nirman” are contributions of vigorous advertisements
that enrich election literature. Slogans, by sheer repetition, become
substitutes for ideology/policy to lure the voters. Strategies provoke counter
strategies.
In political advertisement, images overtake issues and
policies. It tends to place importance on personalities rather than ideologies.
Advertisement tends to be general rather than specific in its content. Giant
size pictures of leaders greet road users and their full-page size photos
occupy space in newspapers alongside products on sale advertised by business
people.
Negativity is a predominant phenomenon in oral
representations due to its direct appeal to attract audience. When lapses and
drawbacks of opponents are presented in a negative campaigning, there is scope
for fun and entertainment in the speech. Such speeches draw big crowds. Positivity
in the form of listing achievements and promises is adopted in print media
advertisements in India.
Importantly, anything in print is likely to be taken as truth by ordinary
readers.
Government advertisement of welfare programmes falls in the
category of positivity, but raises a question of rational utilization of funds.
Government information is mixed up with political advertisement for the
advantage of the ruling party. Central and State governments have to publicize
schemes in operation as information so that they can be availed of by the needy
and will not be restricted to those nearby who are aware of them. There is no
element of anybody’s achievement in carrying out social service schemes.
Election Commission’s Code of Conduct does not allow
government advertisements of its own functioning during election times. However,
there is a feeling within the Congress that their loss in some recent elections
is due to their failure in projecting their achievements in the last 10 years
and that this should be corrected. Political observers, therefore, are sure to
meet what is dubbed as “advertisement blitzkrieg” in coming weeks.
Advertisements presented like news are called “paid news” –
a new phenomenon in Indian elections. Issuing paid news is an offence under
election law in India.
Paid news is a degraded form of political advertisement which damages
independence of the press and amounts to violation of election rules by candidates.
The Election Commission has recognized Radio and Television
as important media of election-related information and has adopted a policy of
allotting time for contesting parties to propagate their views. But,
presentations should be balanced and fair and subject to dos and don’ts issued
by the Commission. Parties generally adhere to the Code and present mostly
their manifestoes which hardly interest the voters.
Viewers and listeners are more interested in political
debates which are becoming increasingly popular. Debates normally pertain to
recent events, but are important source of information on the past and on the
current views of parties. Heated exchanges among spokespersons of rival parties
are witnessed; and the TV anchor is sometimes accused by disgruntled
participants of not being impartial and fair. These debates have become major
political advertising platforms and parties send their best speakers to
represent and defend their standpoints.
Among the Indian citizens, a small percentage only can
follow these debates. Hence, posters, processions, and public meetings and
rallies continue to be the major form of political advertising.
Indian voters do not voluntarily seek political information
to decide their voting choice. For, decisions are made on perceptions, images,
and notions and rarely on issues. Political advertising in India has
naturally become a contest between growing salesmanship and surviving issues
where even policies are to be sold like products. ---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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