ABSTRACT
The study is an analysis of the content of political party television advertisements preceding the 2012 general elections. The study, among others, aimed to find out which of the two major political parties, the ruling NDC and the opposition NPP, relied on negative advertising to achieve their aims. It also sought to find out which issues the two parties focused on. The study was anchored in the functional theory of political campaign discourse. A content analysis of seventy-one television advertisements was conducted. The study found that the NPP relied more on negative advertising whereas the NDC relied more on acclaims. It also found that both parties focused their advertisements on the issues rather than focus on their candidates. A recommendation this study makes is that a trend analysis of political advertisements from the 1992 elections to date should be conducted to give an idea of how political campaign advertisements have evolved over the years.
DEDICATION
This work is dedicated to my family, who have always supported me and pushed me to do my best.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank my supervisor Prof Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh for guidance. I would also like to acknowledge Akua Otu, Halisa Aziz, Osei Tutu Benson and Julius Abagi for their help.
| TABLE OF CONTENT | |
| DECLARATION | I |
| ABSTRACT | II |
| DEDICATION | III |
| ACKNOWLEDGEMENT | IV |
| TABLE OF CONTENT | V |
| TABLE OF FIGURES | VII |
| CHAPTER ONE | 8 |
| INTRODUCTION | 8 |
| 1.1 BACKGROUND | 8 |
| 1.1.1 HISTORY OF TELEVISION IN GHANA | 12 |
| 1.1.2 BEGINNINGS OF POLITICAL ADVERTISING IN GHANA | 14 |
| 1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM | 14 |
| 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES | 15 |
| 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS | 15 |
| 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY | 16 |
| 1.6 SCOPE AND JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY | 16 |
| 1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS | 16 |
| 1.8 SUMMARY | 17 |
| CHAPTER TWO | 18 |
| RELATED LITERATURE AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK | 18 |
| 2.1 INTRODUCTION | 18 |
| 2.2 RELATED LITERATURE | 18 |
| 2.3 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK | 24 |
| 2.4 SUMMARY | 27 |
CHAPTER THREE 29
METHODOLOGY 29
- INTRODUCTION 29
- CONTENT ANALYSIS 29
- POPULATION AND SAMPLING 31
- UNIT OF ANALYSIS 31
- RESEARCH INSTRUMENT 31
- DATA COLLECTION AND PROCEDURE 32
- INTER-CODER RELIABILITY 32
- DATA ANALYSIS 33
- SUMMARY 33
CHAPTER 4 34
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 34
- INTRODUCTION 34
- OBJECTIVES OF STUDY 34
- RESULTS AND DISCUSSION OF CONTENT ANALYSIS 35
- SUMMARY 44
CHAPTER FIVE 45
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 45
- INTRODUCTION 45
- SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS 45
- LIMITATION AND SUGGESTIONS 47
- CONCLUSION 47
- APPENDIX ONE: CODING GUIDE 49
- APPENDIX TWO: CODING SHEET 51
5.6 BIBLIOGRAPHY 52
List of Tables
Table 1: Issues addressed in the advertisements 37
Table 2: Language used in the Ad 38
Table 3: Duration of Ad 40
Table 4: Nature of Ad 40
Table 5: Setting of Ad 41
Table 6: Images reflected in the Ad 42
Table 7: Image of the candidate 43
Table of figures
Figure 1: Political Party 35
Figure 2: Focus of advertisement 36
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
- 1.1 Background
Political advertising is a mainstay of elections. From the lowest level elections through to national elections, candidates spend money to get their message out to convince voters that they are the best candidate for them. Whether in print form, the airwaves or the internet, candidates try to ensure that they are visible to the electorate. Also contained in these ads are messages that inform prospective voters what that particular candidate hopes to offer.
There are various definitions of political advertising. One states that as a concept it is used during elections to inform, educate and set the political agenda using various media formats such as radio, television and print. One way voters gather political information is through political advertising campaigns. Political campaigns all over the world attract much attention and publicity and they have generated lively and sometimes hostile discussions (Mensa-Bonsu, 1979).
Political parties advertising is the structured and composed non-personal communication of information usually paid for and persuasive in nature, about products goods, services and ideas by identified sponsors through various media (Advertising Educational Foundation, 2005). Due to this, advertising is practiced in many democracies. Political advertising is a form of commercial advertising that politicians use to make voters aware of their record, their stand on issues, and ultimately their political vision (Arens & Bovee, 1994). It involves elements of planning, co-ordination and implementation, which would make the advertisement precise unequivocal and convincing; quality implies credibility (Anyimah-Acquah, 2000)
Meenu, Priyana, & Khusboo (2014 p.3) state that “advertising which focuses on the marketing of ideas, attitudes, and concerns about public issues, including political concepts and political candidates. The essential task of political advertising is to gain the confidence of the people for their acceptance of ideas and, in the case of political campaign advertising, to influence their vote. Political advertising include a mass communication used for the purpose of appealing, directly or indirectly, for votes or for financial or other support or opposition in any election campaign.” This shows that political parties have taken the basic concept of advertising and moulded them to suit their purposes. Meenu, Priyana, & Khusboo (2014) also differentiate between political advertising and commercial advertising “first, the product is a person or a philosophy rather than goods and services and second, the advertising objectives must be met within a specific timeframe.” This shows that the target of political advertising is different as compared to commercial advertising. Meenu, Priyana, & Khusboo(2014p.3) also claim that political advertising carries a moral implication, because the results of advertising have potentially far-reaching effects on the population at large. Political advertising raises many controversial social questions concerning the funding of political campaigns, the truth or reality of political claims, and the likelihood of defamatory claims made by political candidates. Political advertising involves the use of advertising by politicians to bring their messages to the masses. Politicians promote their parties to grab the attention of the electorate (Meenu, Priyana, & Khusboo, 2014).liUken co mmercial advertising where products are promoted, political advertising promotes individual. Political parties’ view election strategically. Not only this, they feel that the strategies involved in marketing of products and services by the companies may boost prospects in the election contests.
