The 2012 Chilean film No, which was about the ad campaign that freed Chile from its dictator Augusto Pinochet, documents the power of electoral advertising. When Pinochet announced elections in 1988, it was a perfunctory gesture to ease international pressure. But the advertising swayed the vote towards a "no", and against another eight years of Pinochet’ s rule.
Today, advertising through music videos has benefits, being catchy, shareable, and capable of promoting a candidate without really saying anything of substance. But sometimes these song-ads can fail spectacularly, and then the dud ends up being amplified many times over by social media.
The video above is a case in point. It's for London's mayoral candidate Zac Goldsmith.
The song, targeted at non-English speaking voters, is in a mix of Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Bangla, Mandarin and English. It starts with the enthusiastic and optimistic declaration, “Zac Goldsmith Jeete Ga! Jeete Ga Bhai Jeete Ga...”.
The four-minute paean to Goldsmith’s candidature runs with a montage of images of the candidate with people from the ethnic backgrounds represented by the languages.
In India, the last general election saw songs exalting Narendra Modi.
In fact, Modi practically spawned a genre of praise music videos, ranging in form from bhajans, through painfully servile paeans, to the latest Pahlaj Nihalini show of India’s and Modi’s strength.
This one below is the NaMo Youth Anthem. “He was just a commoner, who started as a tea vendor. Now he is a conqueror, we call him the last airbender. A powerful orator will now become the nation’s curator...” raps the singer, or, well, tries to.
Among Modi's many virtues, the video labels him immortal too.
While that one was not officially approved by the Modi campaign, the one below was.
Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav channelled Billy Joel with this We didn’t start the fire-inspired track Mann se Hai Mulayam. As if the title wasn’t funny enough, it tells us “Mann se hai mulayam, par irade loha hai, irade loha hai (His heart’s soft, but his will is iron)”.
The Americans are big on these ad campaigns, as they are on most things (except Donald Trump’s finger).
At a Trump rally in January this year, this somewhat creepy song was played out. Inspired perhaps by North Korea's children propaganda videos, here three little girls sing about how "President Donald Trump knows how to make America great again".
His first official ad was also extremely xenophobic, and showcased his dislike of Muslims and Mexicans.
On the lines of Goldsmith's video, there is this Hindi ode to David Cameron during the 2015 UK elections. Seen with the Indian diaspora and some godmen, the song appeals to listeners to take his hand – "David Cameron, David Cameron, thaam lo inka haath".
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!