Saturday, June 20, 2009

The politics of Political ads



I've read a lot of posts ranting about the Political ads running on TV like the one above of Manny Villar, and the one on this blog, of Mar Roxas. Bloggers like Adaphobic are lashing out at the audacity of using money for TV ads instead of for helping the poor...

Here's my 2 cents...


It's like Affiliate Marketing



Sure you, and me, and a lot of the bloggers are, as you say, "cringing every time we watch these ads", but let's keep in mind, even though we are part of the voting population, these ads are not meant for us - it is meant more so for the majority of the voting population, i.e. the people with nary a dime but have talking boxes in their 2x2 meter living rooms (which also double as a bedroom at night).


They are the people who will go, "ay, talagang para sa mahirap itong si Manny Villar!" every time they watch these ads.

And THEY have the power to put a President in office.

Now, my intention is not to demean poor people (or even those who claim to represent them), I am no way saying they are ignorant or incapable. My point is, simply, that these politicians are marketing themselves - and their target audience is the voting majority.  They are using the most powerful tools at their disposal to "sell their product", and from a marketing perspective, they are doing quite well.



We could probably guess Manny Villar is NOT the type who goes around (in full make-up) helping people on the streets, or riding pedicabs (ibang candidate yata yun?). But you would probably say, I know he is a good leader, a good man - and so let's do whatever is necessary to help get him to the Palace.

And this is it, my friend. This is it.
Imagine if your were Manny Villar or Mar Roxas' Public Relations agent or Campaign Manager - how far would you go to promote him to the public at large?

And one final disclaimer, I am NOT for Manny Villar nor Mar Roxas nor any other candidate for the moment. I'll reserve my judgment for later.


But what do YOU think?



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How far will you go to put your candidate in office?

14 comments:

  1. Hi there rey! thanks for the link love.
    The only thing that I hates with his TV ads is, kung talagang gusto niya tumulong sa mahihirap, hindi niya kelangan isumbat yun sa publiko.

    Parang sinasabi nya na "Oi, tinulungan ko ang mga mahihirap ha, boto niyo"

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  2. hi sir, thanks for linking our blog in your post.

    To be honest I don't really understand what you're getting at but what I'm trying to say is, is that if they use their money for educating people instead of paying for their ads then there wouldn't be "ignorant" or "incapable" people.

    Let us also keep in mind that if the majority that you are saying are educated they would not allow anything like this to fool them into wasting their votes.

    anyway, I agree to what adaphobic said.

    thanks.

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  3. you also have to keep in mind, highly paid professionals craft theses in such a way that it attracts a certain demographic. what are they really ssaying? always encourage educated voting, not just emotional which these ads play on.

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  5. @Ada, Toby - they're politicians and they need to publicize their "achievements" to be able to get elected and "continue" helping people the way they have been helping people. diba? (That's assuming they're really helping people no?) I'm not one to conclude that a anyone or everyone is corrupt just because they're in government. Maybe I'm naive that way, but I would tend to assume innocence until proven guilty, ika nga. :)

    Besides, I'm not trying to change your mind about them political ads, I just want to facilitate a rethinking of our own views by looking at what THEY are coming from. We don't have to agree with them (or you with me), but we should understand why they are doing this do avoid unnecessarily being sickened on our part! hehehe...

    Sure, it will be ideal to educate everybody, but don't we ALSO have political themed ads encouraging people to "VOTE WISELY". How are those much different? They're both using the same medium, spending the same amount of money.

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  6. well i guess may point si ada about her opinion..tama nga naman na hindi dapat isumbat ang pagtulong

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  7. @ Crisiboy - for non-politicians, tama yan. hindi magandang pinagmamalaki ang pagtulong, but in the case of politicians, they NEED the publicity, otherwise, very few people will know about what they did, diba? And what they need is the numbers. the more people know the better for them.

    i mean, don't we all publicize our own blogs because we "need" to? kahit gaano kagaganda ng posts mo, if no one reads it, eh di wala din.

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  8. i agree, reyjr. just imagine yourself as a politician and you will eventually find your own self doing the same - a TRAPO (traditional politician).

    no single politician will ever win in an electoral race WITHOUT boasting his/her academic achievements and accomplishments nor his/her philantrophic deeds.

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  9. @ Pablo - hehe, ok lang kahit kawawa sya. mayaman naman sya. hehehe! :p

    @ fren - finally someone who sees my point. hehe! no offense to those with dissenting opinions though. :D

    Let's keep our minds open!

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  10. I am making a "Who Not To Vote in 2010" list. Manny Villar is number 1 in that list. He is a thick-faced asshole. These politicians are liars, they are dirtier than the lowliest porn star. The dirtiest porn star is more respectable than these filthy rich politicians. I really hate politicians. Obvious ba? To me they are dog pile.

    Recent blog:=- Battlefield 1943

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  11. wahahaha @Pastilan. Better not go around Malacanang, madami dung politicians. Actually, to me they are a necessary evil, kumbaga. We need them to be there because they serve a purpose. And ideally, in the democratic structure that we have, it is up to us who to put there. it's not they're fault that they're rich. :p lol.

    that last one was a joke by the way. lol. just in case haters are reading this. lol!

    Recent blog:=- Vote for me on MTV Blogger Contest

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  12. And have you seen the latest Manny villar commercial? That one with the equally dirty Boy abunda interviewing him? I really hate Boy Abunda since the beginning, he looks so pathetically plastic. He thinks that he's the faggot version of Oprah. But his facial expressions during the interviews he makes are obviously studied. Utuin nya ang lelang nyang panot, he's just acting. He knows that in order for the dumb masses to admire his "journalistic" skills he should appear to be very interested in what the people he is interviewing are saying. I'm giving Boy Abunda ten dirty fingers for interviewing Manny Villar. I am also giving Manny Villar twenty dirty fingers for the "gwaaaarrk" interview. Shit! nasuka tuloy ako. And these commercials are becoming too long. Villar is really really intent on becoming president of this rotting nation! Oh my goodness tumaas presyon ko dahil sa mga makakapal ang mukhang tulad nitong si Boy Abunda at Manny Villar. Kapal talaga kapaaaaaal!!!

    Recent blog:=- Elearning

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  13. wahaha, looks like you feel really strongly about it! would you mind telling us exactly why you hate "dog piles" so much? Dahil lang ba liars sila? O baka meron pang ibang dahilan?

    Recent blog:=- Tali Beach, Nasugbu, Batangas

    ReplyDelete