Celebrities, Advertising Endorsement, and Political Marketing in Spain: The Popular Party’s April 2019 Election Campaign

One of political marketing’s theoretical tenets is the translation of commercial advertising techniques to politics. This paper focuses on celebrity endorsement as a commercial technique which is translated into political campaigning. Celebrity endorsement relates directly to celebrity politics, tha...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Fernández Gómez, Jorge David, Pineda, Antonio, Gordillo Rodríguez, María Teresa
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión aceptada para publicación
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/155174
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/155174
https://doi.org/10.1080/15377857.2021.1950099
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Political marketing
Advertising
Celebrity endorsement
Celebrity politics
Social media campaigning
Descripción
Sumario:One of political marketing’s theoretical tenets is the translation of commercial advertising techniques to politics. This paper focuses on celebrity endorsement as a commercial technique which is translated into political campaigning. Celebrity endorsement relates directly to celebrity politics, that is, the result of celebrity culture getting in touch with politics, as a way of revitalizing the offering of parties and candidates. In this context, our study analyzes the representation and use of celebrity politicians in Spain by the conservative Popular Party (PP) during the April 2019 national election. In order to shed light on the way celebrities were used in the PP’s social media campaign, we content-analyze 1,117 Twitter messages taken from the party’s profile, and conservative presidential candidate Pablo Casado’s profile. Analytical variables include frequency of mentions, the strategic axis (rational/emotional) with which celebrities were depicted, the features which were highlighted, and the type of endorsement performed by the celebrities. Message topics and functions were added to the analysis as well. Results indicate a weak and flawed strategic use of celebrities, who were scarcely mentioned, and depicted in a non-innovative, traditional fashion.