LETTER: Pick your slogan soundly and your party precisely

The rallying cries of election fervour are here. Every billboard, signpost and radio ad has been claimed by political parties vying to catch our attention and nudge us to choose them. And come May 29 this choice will be made at the polls. 

One thing each party has in common? A slogan. These catchphrases condense political principles into a short message with an aim to unite their followers. Dubbed “sloganeering”, catchy one-liners are a key part of any election campaign. And, as with any advertising jingle, they are designed to evoke emotion. Bonus points if they’re highly quotable, which can be achieved through clever linguistic construction.

From anti-capitalism “Eat the rich” campaigns to Nelson Mandela’s “Amandla! Awethu!” in the 1990s, slogans have the power to mobilise movements. So much so that political pundits attribute much of Barack Obama’s popularity and subsequent success to his “Yes we can!” mantra in 2008. 

The strength of a slogan is science-backed, with one behavioural bias being front and centre — the “rhyme-as-reason” effect. Here we’re more likely to remember and be persuaded by something simply because it rhymes. Researchers suggest this goes back to our formative childhood years where the people we trusted — our caregivers — would tell us short, rhyming stories or sing us nursery songs. As a result we tend to trust attractive language.

Analysing SA slogans through a behavioural science lens, we’re seeing parties pick a side: hopeful or fearmongering. Both routes have the potential for a strong emotional response — one emphasises language of connection, with pronouns “us” and “we” as we “build” or “fix”, while the other opts for partition, preferring military metaphors of “fighting for” and “defending” the country. 

Whether you’re compelled to help the ANC as it does “more, together” (a cheeky reply on social media commented they can’t possibly do less) or join the DA to “rescue SA” (from what, we don’t yet know but they would love to tell us), come voting day make sure you’re casting your ballot. 

As the Electoral Commission of SA proclaims in its own slogan: “Vote for your democracy. Own it”. I know I’ll be rising early on voting day, thanks in part to some successful linguistic politicking. 

Leigh Crymble
Head behavioural linguist at BreadCrumbs Linguistics

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