Audiovisual Political Advertising in Electoral Campaigns: Analysis of the 2023 Vilnius Mayoral Elections

Abstract

Audiovisual political ads not only highlight candidates’ strengths, but also allow to criticize opponents through negative communication. The distinctiveness of these ads also lies on the combination of verbal and non-verbal communication: the visual information presented together with the text is not only more memorable, but also carries a stronger emotional impact, forming a certain voters’ attitude towards the candidates. It is therefore not surprising that audiovisual political ads have been a key element of political campaign communication in many countries for more than seventy years (with the USA in particular standing out). The article examines the ads of the main candidates during the 2023 Vilnius mayoral election campaign (Valdas Benkunskas, nominated by the Homeland Union–Lithuanian Christian Democrats, Artūras Zuokas, nominated by the Freedom and Justice Party, Mykolas Majauskas, independent candidate, Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius, nominated by the Freedom Party, and Waldemar Tomaszewski, representative of the Lithuanian Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania–Christian Families Alliance), based on the theoretical insights of scholars studying persuasion strategies in audiovisual political advertising. The article highlights the aspects of negativity, emotional impact, use of symbols, emphasis on issues, and the professional elements of advertising production. The research revealed that negative rhetoric dominated the ads of the candidates in the Vilnius mayoral election campaign, while the political ads themselves used different strategies and styles.