DAY 160

SOCIAL & POLITICAL COMMENTARY

Marketing Political Ideas

“WE WOULD NEVER DO THAT”

Although most political parties and those desiring political power deny the use of marketing techniques in pushing political agendas, marketing techniques are indeed used all the time. Photojournalists and documentary photographers often aid and abet the marketing of political agendas without meaning to—the simple act of reporting on a topic can generate its infiltration into the minds of the public.

Once the tool of television and newspapers, photographs are used on the Internet to embed and market political ideas into the minds of viewers. Our first digital president—Barack Obama—used photographs to connect with the public throughout his campaign and continues to do so during his presidency. Presidents have released marketing photos since photography became an available tool during the mid-19^th century.

A study released just after the 2008 presidential campaign revealed the sway a photograph can have on a campaign. Stanford University morphed the photographs of citizens with those of presidential candidates during the 2004 campaign. A marked difference in the voting (the morphed candidate received many more votes) occurred when the participants viewed a morphed photo of the candidate that made it appear the candidate had the viewer’s features.¹ —MLR