Political Advertising and Media: Insights from a Multicultural Society

Abstract

During the past a few general elections in Malaysia, public witnessed changes in political campaigns with the use of advertisements not only on the mainstream television and in the newspapers, but also in other form of online media like websites. In the recent 13th General Election the use of the social media was even aggressive and widespread. This study was conducted to compare voters’ advertising perceptions and attitudes toward political advertising in Malaysia, delivered through the traditional media i.e. print and television and the modern-day social media, by using a number of variables. The comparisons were analyzed from two important demographic factors in an election which are (i) location of the voters (i.e. city, surburban area and rural area) and (ii) race (i.e. Malay, Chinese, Indian and other Bumiputras). The study was conducted for a period of one month following the dissolution of the Parliament on 4th April 2013. The implications of the study focus on the consumers’ perceptual shift in terms of the use of media in propagating political parties in the recent general election in Malaysia. The limitations of the study are also discussed.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n7p510