经济学人:政治宣传 海报其实很无能

 　　Political advertising¹

　　政治宣传

　　Posters aren't working

　　海报其实很无能

　　The pros² and cons³ of Britain's favourite political campaign tactic⁴

　　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” billboard⁵, which helped elect Margaret Thatcher⁶ 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 tycoon⁷ 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. Defenders⁸ 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 2015 election, 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 dole⁹ queue and Labour's 2001 mashup of William Hague's face and Margaret Thatcher's bouffant¹⁰. 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 activists¹¹ 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 billboards¹² is journalists, argues Benedict Pringle, a blogger and ad man: “They are almost six-metre-high, full-colour press releases.” When they work, the message gets to voters indirectly¹³, via newspapers (including this one) and TV. Yet a campaign need not be visible from space. Affixing¹⁴ 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。

　　1.pay for 付款；支付

　　例句:I have had to pay for repairs to the house.

　　我不得不支付房屋维修费用。

　　2.spread with 蔓延

　　例句:Animal and vegetable pests spread with extreme rapidity.

　　动植物疫害传播极快。

　　3.flush with 因…脸红

　　例句:His face flushed with anger.

　　他的脸气红了。

　　4.according to 根据；按照；依照

　　例句:The route that the boatmen choose varies according to the water level.

　　船夫选择的路线会随水位的变化而有所不同。

1 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

2 pros   

abbr.prosecuting 起诉；prosecutor 起诉人；professionals 自由职业者；proscenium （舞台）前部n.赞成的意见( pro的名词复数 )；赞成的理由；抵偿物；交换物

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 cons   

n.欺骗，骗局( con的名词复数 )v.诈骗，哄骗( con的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The pros and cons cancel out. 正反两种意见抵消。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• We should hear all the pros and cons of the matter before we make a decision. 我们在对这事做出决定之前，应该先听取正反两方面的意见。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

5 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

6 thatcher   

n.茅屋匠

参考例句：

• Tom Sawyer was in the skiff that bore Judge Thatcher. 汤姆 - 索亚和撒切尔法官同乘一条小艇。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• Mrs. Thatcher was almost crazed; and Aunt Polly, also. 撒切尔夫人几乎神经失常，还有波莉姨妈也是。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

7 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

8 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 dole   

n.救济，（失业）救济金；vt.（out）发放，发给

参考例句：

• It's not easy living on the dole.靠领取失业救济金生活并不容易。
• Many families are living on the dole since the strike.罢工以来，许多家庭靠失业救济金度日。

10 bouffant   

adj.（发式、裙子等）向外胀起的

参考例句：

• Her short brown hair was curled in a puffy bouffant hairdo.她棕色的卷卷的短发蓬松鼓起。
• For example,in the late 1960 s women became tired of bouffant hairstyles and sought new looks.例如在20世纪60年代后期，妇女开始对蓬松的发型感到厌倦,开始追求新的形象。

11 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 billboards   

n.广告牌( billboard的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Large billboards have disfigured the scenery. 大型告示板已破坏了景色。 来自辞典例句
• Then, put the logo in magazines and on billboards without telling anyone what it means. 接着我们把这个商标刊在杂志和广告看板上，却不跟任何人透漏它的涵意。 来自常春藤生活英语杂志-2006年4月号

13 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

14 affixing   

v.附加( affix的现在分词 )；粘贴；加以；盖（印章）

参考例句：

• Formally approves a document by affixing a signature. 以签名的形式正式批准文件。 来自互联网
• Forfixing, insulating, shock affixing parts or screws of many items such as appliances, stereos, and eyeglasses. 电器、音响响、光学学、电脑等的零件、螺丝固定绝缘、防震与接著。 来自互联网