Образ возраста как инструмент политического маркетинга: анализ российских проправительственных СМИ

Abstract

The article examines the specifics of using the symbol of age as a marketing tool by Russian pro-government media during the protests in August 2019. The media under study include Russia Today (TV channel), Gazeta Ru (web portal) and Vzglyad Ru (online newspaper), which all have a wide audience coverage. The image of age is an integral element of symbolic politics and primarily appeals to the emotional component, which makes it a significant tool of political marketing. In this context, the idea of age is used to “promote” certain political “goods”, such as individual political actors, political groups, or entire events and processes. By highlighting various aspects of age, it is possible to create either a positive or negative image, which, in turn, directly contributes to legitimation or delegitimation of the current government. Pro-government media use negative indicators of youth and childhood to form a repulsive image of opposition protest leaders. The media employ the marketing effect of “framing” to focus readers’ attention on the required aspects expressed in age-related terms, and omit the “unnecessary” aspects — i. e., the semantic and ideological content of the protests. In addition, “framing” allows the media to present to the reader certain phraseology which supports the formation of a certain perception of events and needs to be taken into consideration in the process of the public opinion formation. Age-related categories help to create a positive image of power by contrasting it to “decrepit” peers and by indicating an excellent physical fitness typical of young people.