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Thursday, July 26, 2012

‘I Choose Malaysia’ – selling a feel-good image

By Clive Kessler | Malaysiakini

Congratulations on noticing and commenting upon this new promotional exercise by “the old national management team”.

I noticed it some days ago, and wrote to some friends about it.

I said: I saw an amazing new political ad on TV yesterday: an ad, I suppose, for the government, its re-election.

But interestingly, it provided no sight, sign or mention of Umno or BN or the “government” or “kerajaan”, no sight or mention of PM Najib Abdul Razak, nor of any of his cabinet ministers.

And no sign, sight, or mention either of any specific national government projects, no mention of government transformation plans, KRA, KPI.

None of that.

Instead just faces, most speaking rapidly, earnestly, with apparent conviction and quite authoritatively, even demandingly.

All set against a plain white background.

All those talking faces saying “I am going to vote”, “the power is in my hands”, “security” “peace”, etc, etc.

But at the beginning and end – framing and “anchoring” the whole collage of visages and earnest assertions – is the face of none other than Dr Mahathir Mohamad, with his best, familiar smile.

Some people call it his likeable little boy smile, the smile of a boy who knows he’s been naughty but also knows that you’ll forgive him – because he is likeable, charming, has a winning way.

In other words, through this ad the “old Umno/BN national management firm” seems to be signalling that it knows that it hasn’t got much to say for itself these days, much that people are ready to listen to, hear, and very little goodwill to call upon.

Instead, it is now trying to get people to vote for its re-election in the same way that KFC uses the face, the image and icon, of their likeable, quite mythical, old colonel to get you to buy their fried chicken.

There are a number of implications of this, all worth thinking about.

Among them are:

First, have the Lords of Umno given up on thinking that any Najib “feel-good” or popularity factor can win the election for his/their party?

Second, is it the case that they have now recognised their key dilemma: how do you sell a product when everybody feels that your product is “on the nose”, going rotten?

Well, you sell instead a “feel-good” image, a persuasive or seductive mood, and just don’t mention the dubious product.

You hide it.

And, here, you just don’t mention the party or its current leaders!

It’s an amazing ad.

You should all watch out for it, and think about it.

Floating in the ether

Some further thoughts about that interesting TV ad.

It works on a strategy and aesthetic of “radical decontextualisation”.

What it offers is not connected to anything outside of itself.

It floats in the ether, hovers above the political reality that it speaks to, that it seeks to influence and shape.

In other words, its strategy is to sell and promote, to market, Umno/BN purely as a “brand”, not as a product, as anything directly grounded in the current facts and issues of national political life.

I see the logic of it, and it’s not a stupid strategy.

In the face of the present situation, its disquieting problems, what is “the old team” to say and do?

But I doubt that it can really work, “deliver”.

I suppose that they will start by “trialling” it, just to see how it goes, whether it is effective, especially in urban areas and with the young.

Perhaps there is even more to that new ad.

Is it perhaps being prepared and held “on hand”, “in the can”, “on stand-by”, just in case it is needed for a non- or post-Najib campaign?

Is somebody perhaps using this ad to test the waters, trying to gauge how an alternative (non-Najib) campaign would fare in comparison with what is now in prospect?

Are some people in the Umno/BN “engine room” already planning a second, alternative campaign: one to run just in case they decide that they have to replace Najib before the election is held?

Definitely worth thinking about, watching.

CLIVE KESSLER is Emeritus Professor of Sociology & Anthropology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney.

8 comments:

  1. Barisan’s collapse has started in a vicious spiral. Make sure you give Opposition 90% of the vote, the cronies will cling to 10%, then BN trim your 90% to 70% through: Gerrymandering. Frauds in electoral roll with aliens, duplicates & phantoms. Buying & bribing…all using your money!. Biased EC Chiefs from UMNO. Unfair monopoly of media, heli, vehicles, boats, venues & resources. All using your money to destroy you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. We see so clearly from a true democracy overseas: BN / UMNO are using your money to destroy you longer and further after all these 55 yrs. Using tax-payers money to bribe & buy votes. Using Gov’t radio, TV, papers, resources, infrastructure, equipments, vehicles…not giving Opposition a level-playing filed. Instead sabotaging Opposition, and citing communism, terrorists and all kinds of outlandish ideas. Why are you relenting & forgiving these crooks & criminals. All right-thinking Rakyat must support Bersih's 8 electoral reforms for Free, Fair and Clean GE. An UMNO-led Gov’t is NOT a democratically-elected but winning through massive Fraud & Corruption. He called it ‘Promises fulfilled’!

    ReplyDelete
  3. BN’s endless tricks, lies, deception, theft, accumulation of funds… to stay in power. Not after 55 years of BN! It must now be zero tolerance & striking back with the greatest force. Politicians too long in power are the roots of problems: pillage & plunder; cronies; in-equality of races & incomes; apartheid; hardship & grief turning to crime & tragedy;, Hundreds of billions wasted in projects, white elephants & kickbacks, mismanagements. It’s a vicious spiral, to cling to power they will do anything. Then they use your money to fool you & destroy you further! Vote them out! Why are you so forgiving & relenting?

    ReplyDelete
  4. “Promises fulfilled” !!! NZ is ranked among the top in the world for democracy and non-corruption, we see clearly yr 55 years of tragedy. UMNO & BN are corrupt, criminal and evil to the bones. US$100 billion, not million, have been stolen, plundered or mismanaged. Massive corruption eg: The CM ruling 31 years in Sarawak. The world is calling for his arrest & PM Najib pretends everything is beautiful, promises fulfilled. Deceit, gerrymandering; state-controlled media; vote buying; phantom voters; postal votes; illegal immigrant voters; public resources & machinery used to get votes for incumbent gov’t.... using your tax money & money stolen from you to destroy you. Wake up Malaysia!

    ReplyDelete
  5. How long would Mahathir, Najib, all the BN/UMNO/PBB cronies, MACC, Police chiefs last in a democratic country like NZ, UK or Canada? 1 month? In a neutral position, we see clearly your 55 years of tragedy. UMNO & BN are corrupt, criminal and evil to the bones. A hundred US$ billion, not million, have been stolen, plundered or mismanaged. Massive corruption eg: The CM ruling 31 years in Sarawak. The world is calling for his arrest & PM Najib pretends everything is beautiful, saying: Promises fulfilled!

    ReplyDelete
  6. How long would Mahathir, Najib, all the BN/UMNO/PBB cronies, MACC, Police chiefs last in a democratic country like NZ, UK or Canada? 1 month? In a neutral position, we see clearly your 55 years of tragedy. UMNO & BN are corrupt, criminal and evil to the bones. A hundred US$ billion, not million, have been stolen, plundered or mismanaged. Massive corruption eg: The CM ruling 31 years in Sarawak. The world is calling for his arrest & PM Najib pretends everything is beautiful, saying: Promises fulfilled!

    ReplyDelete
  7. We see so clearly from a true democracy overseas: BN / UMNO are using your money to destroy you longer and further after all these 55 yrs. Using tax-payers money to bribe & buy votes. Using Gov’t radio, TV, papers, resources, infrastructure, equipments, vehicles…not giving Opposition a level-playing filed. Instead sabotaging Opposition, and citing communism, terrorists and all kinds of outlandish ideas. Why are you relenting & forgiving these crooks & criminals. All right-thinking Rakyat must support Bersih's 8 electoral reforms for Free, Fair and Clean GE. An UMNO-led Gov’t is NOT a democratically-elected but winning through massive Fraud & Corruption. He called it ‘Promises fulfilled’!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks Alan for a very true perspective of what is happening in this country. But sad that not all voters are able to receive such information, especially the rural folks.

    Your opposition 90% bn 10% theory is very sweet indeed, we can just hope the opposition campaigners can reach out to as many as possible.

    Richard Loh

    ReplyDelete

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