Introduction
Advertising dates back to the year 3000BC when businesspersons hung signs outside their shops in a bid to attract their would-be customers in the ancient Babylon. Advertising has witnessed a twist from the commercial aspects to the cultural landscape where it is currently playing a pivotal role in shaping political opinions. Political consultants have integrated aspects of market research and advertising techniques to sell their candidates and people have learnt to appreciate the creativity and humor that accompany certain advertisements while at the same time detesting the manipulative and misleading nature of these advertisements. This essay will categorically illuminate the major issues that surround political advertising.
Issues in Political Advertising
Political campaigns are organized in such a way that the structure bears semblance to popular advertising culture. Campaign managers are synonymous with the coordination of the campaign operations. Their major preoccupation is the execution of the strategy. They do come second to the political aspirant in terms of visibility (Hix, 1999, p. 73). Apart from the campaign manager, political consultants are charged with responsibility of giving out advice on all aspects of the campaign. They carry out research on the political aspirants, the voters, and the aspirant’s opposers. The activists basically conduct door to door campaigns and undertaking to make phone calls on behalf of the campaign.
The most popular media used in campaign advertising are the newspapers, the radio, and the television. Their usage is pegged on their ability to influence the decisions that are made by the masses that double up as the electorate. Other than the use of mass media, public events such as demonstrations, rallies, and mass meetings where public address system are used can be of great importance to an aspirant for a political office (Barnes & Kaase, 1979, p. 103).
As a matter of fact, modern technology has had its share in shaping political landscape. Faster communication has been enhanced by the electronic mail, the worldwide web, and podcast. Communication technology has enabled political aspirants to interact virtually with a large number of people. They have enabled candidates to do fundraising, conduct volunteer activities, lobby for people’s support, and initiate community building.
Political campaigns in the United States in particular are so commercialized. This is because it is largely dominated by political consultants who use sophisticated campaign machinery not comparable to any the world over. This is occasioned by a huge number of elective posts in states, counties, and municipal councils. Parties in the United States do conduct fundraising where as political consultants control the individual candidates and this has raised a lot of question marks related to costs of campaigning and advertising. Overreliance on broadcast media and direct mail advertising by American political campaigns has escalated the costs of political campaigns. Even candidates who have expressed interest in local elective posts have taken to branding themselves in cable television advertisements instead of making use of media that are relatively cheaper like the direct voter contact and lawn signs. The aspirants resolve to make use of expensive advertising media in their political campaign has discouraged those candidates without well-oiled campaign machinery from expressing their desire in an elective post. This threatens to weaken party democratic principles (Blewett, 1972, p. 13).
Political advertisements in the television are currently realizing declining popularity due to increased use of the internet especially in its ability to help in fundraising. However, because of its accessibility by a small fraction of the populace, the internet is not an efficient means of conveying political advertisements.
References
Barnes, S. H., and Kaase, M. (1979). Political Action: Mass Participation in Five Western Democracies. New York: Sage.
Blewett, N. (1972). The Peers, the Parties and the People: The General Elections of 1910. London: Macmillan.
Hix, S. (1999). The Political System of the European Union. New York: St. Martin’s Press.