Insane election campaign
Political advertising is everywhere. There isn’t a single bus stop without a poster in plain sight; new campaign videos pop up on YouTube every day; and when you open a newspaper, portrait photos framed in party colors practically jump out at you. Switzerland has never before experienced such a flood of advertising during national elections as it has this year. *Werbewoche* asked communications and advertising experts what they think of it.
Political advertising is omnipresent. There is not a bus stop in sight without a poster, new commercials appear on YouTube every day and portraits framed by party colors literally jump out at you when you open a newspaper. Switzerland has never experienced such a flood of advertising during national elections as this year. Advertising Week asked communication and advertising experts what they think. According to the experts, Swiss parties do not particularly shine when it comes to advertising. "From a professional perspective, there is only one party that has understood what advertising is. For the others, it's just advertising. The SVP is the only party that manages to get to the heart of issues," says Pius Walker from the "smallest agency in the world" of the same name.
Alfred Köcher, CEO of the communications agency Pleon C-Matrix Switzerland, is slightly nostalgic and reminisces about an FDP that really had something to say ten years ago: "I miss the content of the conservative parties and I don't like the SVP's campaign. I would like to be able to say that I think something is really good, but compared to other countries, we are at a modest level here in Switzerland in terms of advertising," he regrets.
Hermann Strittmatter, founder and head of the advertising agency GGK, is much more radical: "No matter what the parties do, their campaigns don't stand a chance against the media public. The only one that tries is the SVP. The more stupid their advertising is, the better it is. It really is just hilarious."
Irreversible cretinism, alibis and masturbation templates Instead of conveying messages, the election campaigns degenerate into meaningless justification exercises, according to the advertising experts. As Köcher says, "it's no use handing out packets of spaghetti to people. They know how to feed their families. What they are interested in is who is going to create more nursery places and how."
For Strittmatter, the election campaigns are hopeless: "Yesterday they were handing out apples at Stadelhofen station. That's irreversible cretinism!" he says and adds: "You simply have to have done something. The advertising materials are nothing but alibis and masturbation templates!"
Walker, on the other hand, has not yet given up hope of better election campaigns and believes the most important factor for success is the attitude of the parties: "A good campaign requires courage and consensus, not reservations. So far, only the SVP seems to have understood this. They are doing advertising that people will notice. I can only wish the other parties something like that at the moment."
For Köcher, being noticed is not the top and only priority in an election campaign: "I travel a lot and it affected me when I got hold of a newspaper in Germany and saw pictures of the riots in Bern on the front page. Switzerland has made a lot of headlines there recently, not least because of the SVP sheep. People asked me what was actually going on here, because normally very little is reported about the Swiss Confederation." The public affairs specialist misses clear positioning from the other parties. In his opinion, their vague election statements are causing a certain lack of orientation and uncertainty among the target groups.
Top performance: Migros leads the way Strittmatter is quite different. At the keyword election campaign, the advertiser cries out: "The elections are over!" and skillfully and theatrically rages against the journalist who has just disturbed him during the grape harvest on the vineyard. When asked whether he really didn't like anything about the political advertising, Strittmatter suddenly remembers that he has actually seen something pleasant for the first time today: "Do you know the new Migros posters?" he asks slightly mischievously. "Today I saw a huge poster of Markus Arnold's daughter in her underwear. I really liked it - aesthetically, of course, but also symbolically, because it was obviously not a rash move. After all, her father is president of the Zurich CVP and the little girl wants to be a member of the National Council herself. The poster shows that she is capable of ironizing the political class."
Well, if skimpy lingerie isn't enough to get you into the election campaign, you can always follow the tip that Walker has coaxed out of her: "It's simply important that the parties commit themselves and really stand up for what they stand for. The Greens, for example, have scientifically proven, clear and relevant messages at their disposal. Now they need to get them across simply and boldly."
Natalie Favre
Alfred Köcher, CEO of the communications agency Pleon C-Matrix Switzerland, is slightly nostalgic and reminisces about an FDP that really had something to say ten years ago: "I miss the content of the conservative parties and I don't like the SVP's campaign. I would like to be able to say that I think something is really good, but compared to other countries, we are at a modest level here in Switzerland in terms of advertising," he regrets.
Hermann Strittmatter, founder and head of the advertising agency GGK, is much more radical: "No matter what the parties do, their campaigns don't stand a chance against the media public. The only one that tries is the SVP. The more stupid their advertising is, the better it is. It really is just hilarious."
Irreversible cretinism, alibis and masturbation templates Instead of conveying messages, the election campaigns degenerate into meaningless justification exercises, according to the advertising experts. As Köcher says, "it's no use handing out packets of spaghetti to people. They know how to feed their families. What they are interested in is who is going to create more nursery places and how."
For Strittmatter, the election campaigns are hopeless: "Yesterday they were handing out apples at Stadelhofen station. That's irreversible cretinism!" he says and adds: "You simply have to have done something. The advertising materials are nothing but alibis and masturbation templates!"
Walker, on the other hand, has not yet given up hope of better election campaigns and believes the most important factor for success is the attitude of the parties: "A good campaign requires courage and consensus, not reservations. So far, only the SVP seems to have understood this. They are doing advertising that people will notice. I can only wish the other parties something like that at the moment."
For Köcher, being noticed is not the top and only priority in an election campaign: "I travel a lot and it affected me when I got hold of a newspaper in Germany and saw pictures of the riots in Bern on the front page. Switzerland has made a lot of headlines there recently, not least because of the SVP sheep. People asked me what was actually going on here, because normally very little is reported about the Swiss Confederation." The public affairs specialist misses clear positioning from the other parties. In his opinion, their vague election statements are causing a certain lack of orientation and uncertainty among the target groups.
Top performance: Migros leads the way Strittmatter is quite different. At the keyword election campaign, the advertiser cries out: "The elections are over!" and skillfully and theatrically rages against the journalist who has just disturbed him during the grape harvest on the vineyard. When asked whether he really didn't like anything about the political advertising, Strittmatter suddenly remembers that he has actually seen something pleasant for the first time today: "Do you know the new Migros posters?" he asks slightly mischievously. "Today I saw a huge poster of Markus Arnold's daughter in her underwear. I really liked it - aesthetically, of course, but also symbolically, because it was obviously not a rash move. After all, her father is president of the Zurich CVP and the little girl wants to be a member of the National Council herself. The poster shows that she is capable of ironizing the political class."
Well, if skimpy lingerie isn't enough to get you into the election campaign, you can always follow the tip that Walker has coaxed out of her: "It's simply important that the parties commit themselves and really stand up for what they stand for. The Greens, for example, have scientifically proven, clear and relevant messages at their disposal. Now they need to get them across simply and boldly."
Natalie Favre
