Abstract
A longitudinal analysis of the use of televised electoral advertising by the two political parties that have been the central actors in presidential elections in post-democratization Brazil: the Workers’ Party (hereinafter referred to using the Portuguese acronym the ‘PT’) and the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (hereinafter referred to using the Portuguese acronym the ‘PSDB’). Our objective is to identify patterns and changes in Brazilian electoral advertising between 2002 and 2018 with reference to Brazil’s system of free electoral advertising time (hereinafter referred to using the Portuguese acronym ‘HGPE’), more of which has been allocated to these two parties than to any other. Despite the increasing use of other forms of electoral campaigning, HGPE is central to presidential contests and demarcates political time and parties’ agendas. It is therefore relevant to understand how use of this campaign component has been developed over time, taking into account two factors: messages and strategies. Our quantitative content analysis considers 90 days of PT and PSDB block format advertising during the first rounds of five election contests. Our results reveal that changes in messaging tend to be decided on by the parties (with the PT emphasizing public policies and the PSDB emphasizing image building) whereas the strategies employed depend on the context of each election and are less specific to either party.
Highlights
A longitudinal analysis of the use of televised electoral advertising by the two political parties that have been the central actors in presidential elections in post-democratization Brazil: the Workers’ Party and the Brazilian Social Democracy Party
Our objective is to identify patterns and changes in Brazilian electoral advertising between 2002 and 2018 with reference to Brazil’s system of free electoral advertising time, more of which has been allocated to these two parties than to any other
Our results reveal that changes in messaging tend to be decided on by the parties whereas the strategies employed depend on the context of each election and are less specific to either party
Summary
Discursive Use of office strategies i) Use of office; ii) Association with incumbent administration in election/emphasis on achievements; iii) Association with administration in other position; Endorsement i) Endorsement by political leaders; ii) Endorsement by organized civil society leaders; iii) Endorsement by patron; Call for change i) Call for change; Attack i) Attacks on incumbent administration; ii) Attacks on opponents. Public Policy Themes i) Public security; ii) Health; iii) Education; iv) Tax; v) Infrastructure and basic sanitation; vi) Economy; vii) Urban development and urban planning; viii). Image Building i) Image of city and metropolitan region; ii) Image of state; iii) Image of country; iv) Image of candidate; v) Image of party; vi) Image of opponent; vii) Image of voter. Meta-campaigning i) Electoral Research; ii) External campaign scenes; iii) Calls for voter engagement; iv) Voter education; v) Agenda; vi) Debate; vii) Campaign irregularities. The elections analyzed here featured 45 days of presidential HGPE in the first four elections and 30 days of HGPE in 2018. This time was made up of televised block shows broadcast at 1pm and 8.30pm, rather than ‘spot’ advertising. Information about HGPE allocated to PSDB and PT in 1st rounds of elections of 20022018
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