Election posters in Spain: An old genre surviving new media?

Abstract

Ever since the first free democratic elections of the post-Franco era were held in Spain in 1977, election posters have been one of the main communication tools in Spanish electoral campaigns. It was not until 1993 that they had to compete with election debates. And because Spanish legislation prohibits political advertising on television, election posters compensate for the inability of parties to buy space on television channels. Election posters and billboards have played a relevant part in candidates' strategies for increasing their visibility to voters, and they have retained their relevance despite the advent of new media. This chapter starts out with an overview of the history of and political and legal framework for election posters in Spain. It then examines the significance of posters in the national campaign culture. To this end, it analyzes-paying special attention to the advent of new media as it does so-how the relevance of posters has evolved during and since the Democratic Transition. Finally, the chapter deploys a qualitative content analysis of election posters published between 1975 and 2011 to describe the main content features of Spanish election posters. Overall, the chapter provides an assessment of the role played by election posters and billboards in election campaigning in Spain.