Political advertising——Posters aren't working
政治宣传：海报其实很无能
The pros and cons of Britain's favourite political campaign tactic
英国应用最广政治竞选策略之利弊
“WHO really runs this country?” UKIP poses that question on a poster that is part of its campaign for next month's European elections. The illustration—the EU's golden stars burning through the British union flag—provides the answer. It does not have the ring of the Tories' “Labour isn't working” billboard, which helped elect Margaret Thatcher in 1979. But the tactic is similar: blanket the country with posters and let the votes roll in. They will be visible from the moon, promises Paul Sykes, a tycoon who is paying for them.
“谁才真正经营这个国家?”英国独立党在一张宣传海报上抛出了这个问题，而这只是他们为下个月英国大选所做准备中的一部分。海报上的配图-象征欧盟的金星在英国工会旗帜上闪耀-为这个问题提供了答案。1979年，保守党为撒切尔夫人制作的广告“工人没在工作”(双关语：工党没有起到作用)使其如虎添翼，如今这则广告无法复制当年的广告效应。但是策略却是大同小异的：用铺天盖地的海报淹没整个国家，让源源不断的选民滚滚而来。“海报在月球上都看得见”保罗·赛克斯信誓旦旦道，因为这个金融大亨为此投资巨大。
The only form of political advertising allowed on British television is the party political broadcast—stilted affairs watched by few. So politicians spread the word with leaflets, posters and junk mail. In 2010 they spent 7m on outdoor advertising, nearly a third of total political ad spending, according to Nielsen, a market-research firm. Scottish nationalists, flush with cash from a lottery-winning couple, will do battle by billboard in the run-up to this September's independence vote.
英国广电唯一授权的政治宣传形式只有政党政治广播，其乏味的内容让观者寥寥。所以政客们改变策略，利用传单、海报甚至垃圾邮件进行宣传。根据市场研究公司尼尔森的数据，2010年，政客们花了700万英镑(约合1100万美元)用于户外宣传，几乎是政治宣传总花费的三分之一。由于得到了一对中奖夫妇丰厚的现金资助，苏格兰民族党将会在广告牌首先开火，为今年九月的独立投票助跑。
Is this wise? For most products, outdoor advertising is “the worst-performing of all offline media”, says Ian Fermor of Ebiquity, a company that measures such things. Defenders of the medium say this ignores the potential for longer-term brand building. But parties increasingly take Ebiquity's view. Labour will focus its spending on grassroots organising in the 2015election, says Marcus Roberts of the Fabian Society. The effect on voter turnout of any kind of print advertising, including posters, is “hardly measurable”, he says. Only the Conservatives spent much on outdoor advertising in 2010.
此举到底明智与否?一家专门测量这类事务的公司Ebiquity的伊恩·弗莫尔称，就其他结果而言，户外宣传是“所有线下媒体中表现最差的”。这类媒介的拥护者称，这会忽略长期品牌树立的长期影响。但是政党越来越认同Ebiquity公司的看法。费边社的马库斯·罗伯特认为，在2015年大选中，工党将集中资金在民间组织上。他还认为，其他纸质宣传，包括海报对于选民的参与都“有着无法估量”的价值。2010年，只有保守党在户外宣传上花了大价钱。
Still, posters might be better at selling politicians than soap. They can pack an emotional punch: think of the Tories' 1979 dole queue and Labour's 2001 mash up of William Hague's face and Margaret Thatcher's bouffant. If you're after voters in specific places, posters are your medium. A Conservative campaign in 2010 won an industry award for “best use of roadside”. Posters are especially good for a party—like the Conservatives—short of youthful activists to stuff letterboxes.
不过，海报还是比无尽的吹嘘更能推销政客。海报可以附加情感攻势：想想保守党在1979年的失业大军，以及2001年工党威廉·海格(英外长)的脸配上撒切尔夫人蓬松发型的混搭风。如果你在某特定场合迎合了选民的情绪，海报就是你的宣传媒介。2010年保守党的一次竞选活动中赢得了“最佳路边使用奖”。海报对一个政党来说尤其好用-比如保守党就是-正愁没有年轻积极分子用选票填满邮箱。
The real target audience for billboards is journalists, argues Benedict Pringle, a blogger and adman: “They are almost six-metre-high, full-colour press releases.” When they work, the message gets to voters indirectly, via newspapers (including this one) and TV. Yet a campaign need not be visible from space. Affixing a poster to a van and driving it round London will do. If that was UKIP's plan it has, expensively, succeeded.
某博主兼广告人本尼迪克·普林格尔称，广告牌真正的受众是记者，他说“广告牌近6米高，颜色非常鲜艳”。当广告牌起作用的时候，选民通过报纸和电视获取消息就不那么直接了。所以竞选活动不必都能从太空中就能看见。只要在小货车上贴一张海报，然后绕城跑就可以了。如果那就是独立党的计划，虽然昂贵但却收效颇大。
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