Party ads branded a waste of money
Party ads branded a waste of money
JAKARTA (JP): Observers said on Wednesday political parties'
advertisements on television were "a waste of money" and not
effective in influencing voter behavior.
Senior political observer Soedjati Djiwandono of the Centre
for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) told The Jakarta
Post that the advertisements were ineffective because "they are
very short and the content of what the leaders of the parties say
is also very short".
"I do not think they really give the people a clear idea of
what the parties are all about," Soedjati said.
"I do not think that people are really interested in the ads
because after all there are many other interesting things on
television... I think it is only a waste of money," he said.
Some of the 48 parties campaigning for the June 7 elections,
which are expected to be the first free and fair elections since
the 1955 polls, have placed their ads on private television
stations to lure 130 million voters.
Among them are top contenders such as the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the National
Awakening Party (PKB) and the ruling Golkar Party.
"Research has shown in other countries that voter behavior can
not really be influenced by ads and they do not provide any
substance anyway," Wimar Witoelar, noted talk show host and
sociopolitical observer, told the Post.
Wimar, however, admitted that the ads were quite effective
"in getting people acquainted with the parties".
"I think the main purpose of the television ads would be like
brand awareness, getting people acquainted with the numbers and
the logos of the parties since they are all new and there are so
many of them," he said.
"But not in political education... not in helping people to
understand the issues or to differentiate between the parties in
terms of programs," Wimar added.
He said there was also an element of injustice.
"If you consider the cost of producing and purchasing
airtime... it is considerable, so parties with deep pockets can
of course overwhelm an audience with really superfluous ads like
Golkar, the People's Sovereignty Party (PDR) and the Republican
Party," Wimar said.
A 30-second ad on a private station costs Rp 5 million for
each exposure.
A source close to the ruling Golkar Party told the Post
recently that the party had "unlimited" funds to win the
elections.
"It would do anything to win the June elections," he said.
Golkar and PDR have been accused of practicing "money
politics" ahead of the elections in their efforts to reach a
reasonable percentage of votes to win the elections. Both have
denied the charges.
Wimar further criticized political ads on television, saying
they were "more in the tradition of selling products".
"In promoting people, which is what political advertising is
all about, you have to show things in terms of themes and
feelings rather than the current ads which are more in the
tradition of selling products... you should show the personality
of Megawati or Amien Rais, for instance, in more illustrative
ways," he said, referring to top presidential candidates from PDI
Perjuangan and the National Mandate Party (PAN) respectively.
Wimar cited political ads in the United States which he said
"had been showing (President) Bill Clinton as a man of the people
or (former president) Ronald Reagan as somebody with a strong,
single theme".
"But at a time when we seek new development in television ads,
I think we should just see them as a new potential for political
communication," he said. (byg)