Somehow, advertising and politics are interconnected. They are both worlds apart, yet uncannily alike. They both have campaigns, ambassadors and a public persona. Appealing to the collective power or the people via mass communication is integral to the success of these two opposing fields. Political parties are like brands: both have logos, taglines, positioning and promise a more fulfilling life.
Here are a few more observations:
1. All images used are for illustration purposes only.
2. Terms & conditions apply, especially when there is a promise of a reward.
3. Campaigns come thick and fast, hit hard… then conveniently disappear.
4. Scams are a tradition, and sometimes earn applause.
5. The people who actually do the work hardly get the credit.
6. When gentle persuasion comes to naught, time for some hard-sell tactics.
7. Strategies are meant to outsmart the competition, and not to offer better products or service to the people.
8. Slogans, catchphrases and tag lines seem credible, yet hardly mean a thing when analysed.
9. Advertisers and politicians make headlines.
10. Misleading is an accepted business practice.
11. It’s all about telling the people what they want to hear.
12. The biggest market share is the holy grail.
13. Politics always use advertising.
14. There is always politics in advertising.
15. It’s a dog-eat-dog world.
Last but not least, advertising and politics are all about vested interests, which is essentially to take money out of the people pockets. Hmmm… maybe there a career for me in politics.
2 Comments
While I completely agree with this post, I also find that politics and advertising do literally interconnect. The wheeling and dealing behind some big ad campaigns and jobs are based sometimes on political influence. By influence I mean, the cut. It’s sad and disheartening but this is Malaysia and a lot of times, survival means keeping your trap shut, taking your knocks and moving on. Malaysia Boleh indeed.
Yup, blatant politicking is prevalent in pretty much any industry in Malaysia. Everyone kow-tows to someone and we all need to protect our rice bowl. Authority, money and power supersede everything else, and yes, there’s nothing much we can do about it.