Australian election posters

Abstract

Posters have been used in Australian election campaigns for over 150 years. They continue to play more important roles than their neglect by Australian political scientists would suggest. Consistent with Australia's generally laissezfaire approach to election campaigning, laws regarding election posters are relatively unrestrictive. The laws focus on placement, size, duration, and authorization. They leave wide scope for candidates to push the boundaries of truth and taste. This chapter assesses nine key roles played by election posters in Australian campaigns. These are: raising candidate recognition; establishing the party image; emphasizing leaders; distancing candidates from their parties; claiming territory; engaging party supporters; projecting interest group messages; generating media coverage; and delivering last minute messages to voters. Although parties spend far more on broadcast and newspaper advertising than posters, their use of posters is deliberate and strategic, rather than merely driven by habit and tradition. Parties invest resources in producing high impact posters, placing them in prominent positions and using them to generate free news media coverage. The effort that rival campaigners put into poster displays suggests that they remain convinced that posters help their candidates win tight contests. More systematic research is needed to see whether this belief is warranted.