You’d think not at all, and you’d most likely be in the majority.
Both these professions have vastly different requirements/ambitions/practitioners as per common sense.
Politicians are supposed to be representatives of the people. They are mirrors that reflect the ideals and beliefs of their constituents in government. They are supposed to stand for all that is good or be voted out in the next polls.
Advertisers are marketers. Sellers of goods and services, at any cost. They are known to be hoodwink artists, small print practitioners and generally low moral individuals. Always ready to confuse and then place their brand as the solution.
Today, Age old Advertising tricks are being used in politics. Advertisers are considered the 2nd lowest profession for ethics (only used car salesmen beat them). So how can Politicians, who are answerable to the public, act like advertisers (false claims and the like) and get away with it?
By muddying the commonsense of an individual, by resorting to emotional tactics and ever more often to religion, creed, race and all that divides us as human.
When it comes to ads about a product we know to take it with a pinch of salt because the ad is made by and paid for by the company selling the product.Yet there seems to be no disconnect about trusting political ads paid for by the candidate they are endorsing.
Laws are now being passed that look like misleading ads, which say one thing then deliver another (tax breaks for the rich, laws that benefit companies not people etc). Almost as if advertising copy writers had written it themselves.
Advertisers are always trying to find a rtb (reason to believe) it could be a celebrity endorsement, or a testimonial (like dove ads where “regular” women vouch for the product and its claims). We are starting to see this same logic being used with the Joe the Plumber and Tea Partyers who claim to be “regular” people. They aren’t, they are paid for by the opposition. Just like the dove ladies are paid for by dove.
Another common advertising technique is the “Vs. The other leading brands”. These ads or dummy tests are always done under conditions favorable to benefit the brand paying for the advertising. Just like studies, statistics or research findings are exploited to further the political agendas of those paying for them.
When our purchasing decisions are made by advertising gimmicks why can’t our political decisions be influenced by the very same tactics.
Today advertising and politics are bedfellows. Consumers are voters and vice versa.