Election campaigning leaves behind more merchandise than the average rock concert. However, election merchandise also ends up being more politically meaningful than your dad’s old shirt that has “The Comrades” on it. Merchandising spreads logos into plain sight, but doesn’t print any political promises and might not be as effective for advertising as it gets credit for. When was the last time you voted for someone because of their ad?
It’s acceptable to assume that a political shirt or cap doesn’t necessarily indicate someone’s political affiliation. Sometimes it’s just naturally absorbed into their wardrobe alongside everything else they own. Who says no to a good shirt, even if you don’t listen to Metallica and can’t name any songs? Here’s a look at littering on the campaign trail, and more about why political advertising rarely resonates with its intended audience among the people.
What political advertising is worth
Could you imagine chugging on an MK Party energy drink? The future is already here. Advertising calls it “the vibrant force associated with the uMkhonto weSizwe Party”.
Merchandising isn’t limited to political posters anymore, but can easily include a scope of other products and promotional avenues. AfriForum could easily have jumped on the bandwagon with their own brand of conservative, Afrikaans snacks.
Political advertising has less to do with getting the messages across. These days, it seems to be all about flashing the broadest smile out of anyone in town – or showing your intended audience that you have the best lucky packet.
Political merchandising has no worth to the voter except for its face value. I’ve seen some people attempting to make a political statement by wearing their political T-shirts with the logos cut out. The statement didn’t last, and the point they’d been trying to make was traded in for new shirts again the next day.
Advertising to the masses
I notice a lack of advertising by certain parties in more rural areas. The available selection of who to vote for increases as you drive through the high-walled suburbs. Perhaps it’s that some parties can’t keep their posters up long enough, or it could be that some political parties might imagine that there’s no point in advertising to the masses who are still worried about the basics.
Political advertising leaves behind a fair amount of litter on the campaign trail. Posters and slogans are used to spread the logo, while political merchandise only truly indicates how much the party is willing to spend on showing off to its audience – and usually the party provides no indication of how it might outwork its responsibilities and budgets when it’s in power.
Fear God, Bart Simpson and politics
Highway graffiti spells out a three-letter political giant. Somewhere past this, some more street art shows Bart Simpson peeking out behind some leaves. A further tagline proclaims, “Fear God”. The image of Bart Simpson provokes the strongest emotion out of the three.
While political campaigns have often tried to integrate into popular culture with punchy slogans and dances, most political advertising lacks the impact it’s trying to make. A political advert is never “the voice of the people”, but direct marketing for its leaders. Advertising favours the advertiser, whether it’s advertising the fizz of a popular soft drink or the fizzle of a politician’s promise. Most advertising is deliberately manipulative. Political advertising still has a goal: drink this, eat here and vote for us.
Walking through the neighbourhood around election time feels like a scene from the movie They live. Wear the special sunglasses, and you might see what’s behind the advertising –the simple one-word message: “Obey.”
Social media and political advertising
Social media is the next frontier of political advertising, but you might notice that a great deal of political social media channels appear wayward and still in their early stages. The South African presidency’s Facebook page is one example of the political social media sphere. Unfortunately, the page is often overrun by internet trolls and laugh reactions. Most political pages appear to be the same examples of chaos theory. The majority of political social media accounts seem to have a hard time dealing with trolls, and online political advertising still has a far way to go compared with other more direct advertising.
Political posts often go viral, but also often go popular for the wrong reasons. At the time of writing this, Elon Musk has gone viral for dancing on President Donald Trump’s stage. Musk also busted some moves to the classic song “YMCA” at a 2024 Mar-a-Lago Thanksgiving event, and he has done this many times before at Tesla events. Let’s say that social media still seems to be an awkward space for the political sphere.
Social media and politics present rocky territory. Like Musk, political stalwart Helen Zille has also gone viral for her dance moves, but I think it’s fair to say that people weren’t necessarily laughing with them as much as they were laughing at them.
The DA’s John Steenhuisen made headlines for both hiring and firing an influencer: the controversies didn’t sit too well with the party. Social media also tells us that Steenhuisen’s kids shop at Pep.
It feels like the political sphere is still desperately trying to understand how social media works. Like grandmothers who have never been on the internet before, political social media accounts are trying to figure out where to click and how to avoid trolls.
Sponsored political ads are still learning how to gauge their audience. Researching Afrikaans music doesn’t automatically place me in the category of people who would vote for a few particular parties. For some reason, the related keywords seem to think it does.
Political websites present with more fun than their social media profiles, and I encourage you to explore them. On political websites, you will find reading material and manifestos, which can be a better representation of what to expect from a party.
The poster of Babel
Political posters are always placed higher up than the audience they’re trying to reach. There’s something about the average political advert that feels domineering and superior – vote for the smiling faces that are pictured looking down on you.
A political poster doesn’t change much to please its audience, especially when you know that the posters line the same route you’re going to walk next year, with very few changes other than the faces on the picture or how broad they’re smiling. Looking up at a political poster gives a feeling of grandiosity rather than the intended feelings of empowerment and freedom.
Music festivals and local events, by comparison, would never stack their ads up this high. A hip hop event poster would never put its performers above its audience, yet the average political ad can’t seem to help it. A park jam poster shows four hands entwined in a grip: one for all – and it paints such a different picture from the political posters that yell for your attention.
While using the best-posed photographs, most political posters fail to make their impact and might at best provoke casual comments over tea. Party advertising comes across as logos that are reaching up too close to the sky. Littering on the campaign trail will eventually bring these parties back to earth, where fading political posters collect until the next time the parade comes through town.
