The Sound and Spectacle of Philippine Presidential Elections, 1953–98

Abstract

No other country in Southeast Asia makes its pop idols its national leaders. Jingles were almost always unremittingly cheerful and upbeat, using happy tunes to sweeten the frequently bland information contained in the lyrics. They worked simply, by trying to create a positive affect around a particular product, occasionally promising something, whether suavity and attractiveness to women, or white teeth. Reflecting on how music has been exploited by advertisers to persuade the public to purchase a product, ethnomusicologist Timothy Taylor is evidently referring to jingles intended to sell consumer goods.1 Yet he could well be talking about election jingles, created to peddle not a material product but an individual: more precisely, a candidate for public office. For what is a political campaign but a strain of advertising—an organized effort to influence the voting process within a group or society. A crucial element of that endeavor is campaign music—the soundtrack to a bid—composed (or adapted), performed, and trumpeted to create a positive effect around a candidate’s image. The promise: not suavity but social services; not white teeth but welfare. The target: not a sale but a vote. And with music’s proven competency in subliminal suggestion, jingles have been a potent aid in putting politicians into power.