The households of Florida have recently received anti-Obama literature in their mailboxes. The proximity to the election can't be ignored, and many people throughout the country have seen the ads of both candidates. But the use of direct mail pieces in a negative way takes campaigning to a new level.
As future PR practitioners, it is important for us to understand the ethics that plays a large role in what we will be doing. I am curious who came up with these mailings, and what the strategy behind them is. I understand that politics can be harsh, but are mailings that attack another candidate necessary in the political process and public relations?
5 comments:
I agree that negative direct mailers take our political campaign machine to a new low, but what types of households were receiving the mailers? I would be curious to see if they were targeting Republican voters or Democratic voters.
I agree. During recent years, society has become accustomed to accepting PR and Advertising strategies as appropriate and ethical, when many times they are not justifiable.
As for the presidential election, I've also been noticing how instead of focusing on their own pros and ideals, each candidate has been emphasizing the other's bad tendencies or negative ideals.
Don't they teach us in elementary school that only bullies pick on others to make themselves feel better?
What does the election really consist of? Voting for the best man for the job or the one that's not as bad as the other?
Yesterday I opened my mail and found two direct mail pieces attacking Obama, the interesting part of it was that there was one addressed to me and one to my roommate. The piece was directed at Obama liberal polices and how he was more interested in Hollywood then our countries polices.
Although it was interesting me it irritated me that such time was wasted to attack one candidate. It also upset me that it was a complete waste that I had to read this. Direct mail definitely gets a message out but at the expense of irritating many and it basically falls under the Junk Mail Category.
Direct mail is useful tool for PR practicioners. However, I did not realize that it can be used so negatively. Although I realize that political campaigns by nature are extremely competitive, it is sad that ethics are compromised.
As a public relations and political science double major, I am highly interested in cases where the areas intersect. I just wish that there were more cases where ethical behavior was demonstrated.
I understand how things get out of hand. One candidate will make a negative ad, and the other almost has to refute it to correct the out of context statements. It reminds me of a court battle at times. The things the ads say are correct to a point, but it is spun in a way that makes either candidate look like a bad choice. I think this type of PR is the negative kind we have been taught at marquette to avoid and yet, in politics is it something we have come to accept as the norm?
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