Advertising slogans and “hate speech”

In August, most newspapers responded to the premature start of the parliamentary election campaign and, first of all, to the appearance of numerous billboards with various slogans. It turned out that there are several advertising slogans that none of the journalists writing on this topic passed by. They belong to the Liberal Democratic Party and the United Russian Party (ORP) "Rus", which managed to "mark" the action to return the nationality to the passport.

A number of journalists are frankly sarcastic about the incompetent work of political technologists. "The first thing that caught my eye was an advertisement for the party of Zhirinovsky, an old favorite of journalists. Just a few words:" We are for the poor, we are for the Russians. A poster of another party, whose name I did not have time to make out (just the Rus party - ed. ): "We are the largest country. We are the most educated nation. Together we are Russians. "The country is a big one, but if we are so educated, why isn't there a dash after "we"? And what does it mean "together we are Russians"? Together, it means Russians, but separately there are also Tatars and Yakuts , Unfortunately?" (Olga Bakushinskaya. Komsomolskaya Pravda). "...Billboard "We are the biggest country. We have the most educated nation. Together we are Russians" are read even by those who consider themselves - either together or separately - Tatars, Jews and Georgians" (Ksenia Rozhdestvenskaya, Novaya Gazeta).

However, after the first publications, a topic of discussion emerged about the admissibility of "playing the ethnic card" in advertising and about the possible consequences of this.

On the one hand, Zhirinovsky's already mentioned slogan "We are for the poor, we are for the Russians" was actually picked up by the newspaper "Soviet Russia". Starting from him, the newspaper criticizes one of the Communist Party's rivals in future elections, in fact proving that Zhirinovsky is in fact not "for the poor" and not "for the Russians." Such people, according to the author, do not have enough money, for example, to have a rest at a resort where the same Zhirinovsky or, for example, "a local nouveau riche like Alla Cholokyan ..." (Vladimir Efimov, Soviet Russia) has a rest. And for the Russians, they say, just comrade intercedes. Zyuganov.

Izvestia also drew attention to this slogan: “Well, really, don’t write something like: “We are for the rich, we are for the Jews.” They might think that some party is standing up, God forbid, for oligarchs" ... And about one of the advertising posters of the Moskva shopping center (which, however, has already "earned" a lawsuit for politically incorrect advertising - "Since xenophobic stereotypes are used in advertising, it looks very offensive ... The height of vulgarity and indecency" (Andrey Kolesnikov, Izvestia).

On August 5, Kamilzhan Kalandarov, General Director of the Institute of Human Rights, joined the discussion . In his opinion, the mood planted by the slogans used in the advertising of the LDPR and ORP "Rus" is "dangerously, the destructive mechanism of a boomerang is inevitably launched into action ... The authors of unpretentious in form, but terrible in content, slogans in pursuit of the electorate, should remember that at present 176 nations and nationalities live in multinational Russia ," he said and urged not to stir up nationalist sentiments.

In addition, K. Kalandarov expressed his bewilderment at the inaction and connivance of the federal and city Moscow services and departments, which allow the incitement of nationalist sentiments in society on the eve of the elections, and regarded their inaction as a tacit agreement with the slogans of party false patriots.

Sources

• Bakushinskaya Olga. Horse butt scent // TVNZ. 2003. 28 July.
• Christmas Xenia. Our future is alive and moving // New Newspaper. 2003. August 11-13.
• Kolesnikov Andrei. Rough Tongue War // News. 2003. 4 August.
• Efimov Vladimir. yellow satellite // Soviet Russia. 2003. 26 July.
• Kamilzhan Kalandarov: "Nationalism will not pass" // Regions.ru. 2003. 5 August.