Wag the Tree

John Wanamaker once said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.” Well, as far as political advertising in India is concerned, both halves are wasted.

In any political campaign, most of the voters decide well in advance who they will vote for. The parties, therefore, essentially spend their time wooing a small percentage of undecided voters. Any political advertising from them, thus, should have one or both of two objectives: to sway the swing voters over to their side, and to mobilise those voters on their side to actually go out and vote.

There is a political advertisement by the Congress alliance in Maharashtra in both the Indian Express and The Times of India that carries big photographs of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, and alongside them, one quote from each: “Garibi Hatao” from Indira, and “Get ready for the 21st century” from Rajiv. Below that is a slogan, in all-caps, “Now let us fulfill their dreams”.

This might, though I doubt it, make people who are already Congress supporters feel warm and fuzzy about their allegiance, but I can’t see what this tired recycling of cynical cliches does to convert the undecided voter. No talk of policy, no talk of governance, and not even any promises (not that they would keep them). It is advertising for the sake of advertising, like we’ve had government for the sake of government through all these decades. India has gradually been moving away from its failed Nehruvian legacy over the last few years – but the advertising wing of the Congress party still seems stuck in the 1970s.