Political advertising, from money to power and back again

Michael Hedges May 25, 2009 Follow on Twitter

Political advertising, hatched six decades ago in the United States, is seen as a necessity for politicians and political parties. Political campaigns in Europe have become just as professional. With that has come the same level of nastiness in political speech.

A political ad produced and paid by the Czech National Party (NS) and broadcast on Czech public television (Ceske Televize – CT) is but the latest test of the delicate balance between free and hate speech. The ad represents the far-right political party’s main talking point in the run-up to European Parliament elections, featuring the words “a final solution to the Gypsy problem” in the copy.

The main human rights watcher in Europe, Council of Europe General Secretary Terry Davis said (May 22) he was “outraged.” CT president Jiri Janecek reportedly filed a lawsuit against the NS the day after the spot first aired (May 20). Janecek said he would no longer broadcast the ad. Others in the Czech Republic have called for Janecek’s head for allowing the ad to be broadcast in the first place. Czech law requires broadcaster to air political spots as delivered by the client without editing.

“If somebody offers a ‘final solution’, it reminds me of something,” said Media Commission chairman Vitezslav Jandak. “I think higher law should apply here: moral law. I am very glad that Czech TV has pulled these spots.”

Political parties have long argued, with some success, that political speech – and that would include ads – is protected and, therefore, not subject to the same constraints over commercial speech – that being all other advertising. In democracies, so the argument goes, more political viewpoints – even if ugly – are better than fewer. Another argument says in democracies people get the politicians they deserve.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg, the money or the power? Political advertising in the UK is highly restricted on radio and television. Entire newspapers, on the other hand, are devoted followers of one political bent or another. With no ads whatsoever on the BBC politicians seeking their 15 minutes are relegated to official election broadcasts. If coverage isn’t to their liking, there’s always the BBC to attack. 

Media regulators have added to the debate on political advertising, some resisting message and quantity expansion. Others are willing to expand free speech tenets to political advertising. Fear “it would favor the wealthiest candidates,” French Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisual (CSA) president Michael Boyon cited the American example as he opposed introducing political ads to French TV, reported Le Express (November 20 2008). 

Switzerland bans political advertising from radio and television, though recent rumblings suggest giving the Swiss a vote on allowing ‘informative spots’ on public TV. Following the European tradition of financially supporting friendly newspapers, politicians and political parties in Switzerland are free to buy as many pages in print as possible. More Swiss political parties are turning to new media like YouTube to spread their messages to supporters.

Then, too, all is fair game with the all too effective poster and billboard campaigns, made painfully obvious with the infamous Swiss Peoples Party’s ‘Black sheep’ campaign, not all that dissimilar to the spirit of the ads from the Czech National Party. Human rights watchers called it blatant racism. The poster campaign was so popular with far-right political parties it was imitated if not outright copied in other countries.

Get out the vote (GOTV) campaigns seem less contentious. A public service quality is enlisted to encourage one and all to do their civic duty and go to the polls. The European Parliament (EP), for which elections will be held June 6th, prepared GOTV materials and asked broadcasters to air them at no charge. In more difficult markets the EP paid.

Slovakia is one country targeted for the EP’s GOTV campaign, largely because poll turnout was the lowest in Europe. Giant 3D installations have appeared in major Slovak cities and TV spots are on the air. They have “aroused great interest and I believe that this interest by citizens in European topics will show in their decision to take part in the European elections,” said the EP’s Bratislava information office director Robert Hajsel, to the Slovak Spectator (May 25). The range of Slovak political parties with candidates for the European Parliament are running their own, more pointed, ads.

Sometimes GOTV campaigns don’t work as planned. Poland’s government supported Polish public television’s (TVP) GOTV initiative. It worked so well the government was voted out of office, whereupon the new government undertook an initiative to take over TVP.

American media has come to depend on loud, contentious, well-financed and long political campaigns. Accountants and financial analysts factor in the benefits from an unrestricted political advertising market. US rules upheld by the Supreme Court prevent broadcasters from editing or refusing to broadcast political ads. With other ad spending in freefall, US political advertising in the ‘off’ year 2009 may top US$ 1 billion.

See also in ftm Knowledge

The Campaign Is On - Elections and Media

Elections campaigns are big media events. Candidates and issues are presented, analyzed and criticized in broadcast and print. Media is now more of a participant in elections than ever. This ftm Knowledge file reports on news coverage, advertising, endorsements and their effect on democracy at work. 53 pages. PDF (April 2010)

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