SİYASAL REKLAMLARDA "MİLLET" TEMASI: "CUMHURBAŞKANLIĞI SEÇİMİ VE 30 MART YEREL SEÇİMİ ÖRNEĞİ

Political advertisement is an important political communication component which is achieved with purpose of effecting voters’ behaviour during political campaign process. Political advertisements have an effective role on introducing leaders, candidates, parties, services or projects at election campaigns. Political parties and candiates are in great effort of effecting voters and handling political preferences during political election processes by managing a densitive political communication work. Amongst these political communication components, political advertisements are really important. Say, both providing the political information that the voters need and expressing self to voters are very important. At the result of the researches which have been conducted, it’s possible to say that political advertisements have four different categorical effects on voters. According to this, political advertisements can be effective on voters’ choice, political party or candidate image, providing political information for voters and political contribution. Political parties or candidates aim for gaining voters’ support by political advertisements. For this purpose, different themes and elements are used at political advertisements. One of the themes which are used in Turkey is “nation”. The first sample of “nation” theme was first observed in 1950 general elections, at DP (Democrat Party) political posters. DP exhibited an election campaign with posters that include the slogan “Enough! Commitment Belongs to Nation! (Yeter Söz Milletindir)”. During latter processes, at different election periods, it was possible to observe political advertisement samples which emphasized on “nation” theme. In AK Party regulations, whilst there are special referrences for nation theme, we observe AK Party’s first political advertisement work with nation theme, during 2009 Local Elections. At these elections, AK Party formed its campaign theme with the slogan “Our Work is Ministration, Our Power is Nation (İşimiz Hizmet, Gücümüz Millet)”, at the other hand tried to inform about the projects to be accomplished within this context. At 2014 Local Elections, AK Party again used “nation” theme. During AK Party 2014 Local Elections campaign, “Always Ministration, Always Nation (Daima Hizmet, Daima Millet)” slogan was used all advertising spheres as main theme, which include billboards, posters, hand ads, newspaper ads, newsletters, candidate introduction cards, flags, vehicle covers, internet banners. Besides these, advertorial films, billboards and newspaper ads which took “Nation not Bendable, Turkey not Vincible (Millet Eğilmez Türkiye Yenilmez)” as theme, were situated at 2014 Local Election advertisements. In this theme, which was prepared during political campaign processes, along with actual political developments, again, “nation” emphasize was at foreplace. At Presidential Elections on 10 August 2014, which was held publicly for the first time, the main theme of Presidential Candidate Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s political campaign was “Erdoğan The Nation’s Man Milletin Adamı Erdoğan”. Besides political advertisement films, “The Nation’s Man (Milletin Adamı)” slogan was used at billboards and brochures. Again, it was used within the salient advertisement film “Public Choose Their President (Cumhur Başkanını Seçiyor)”. Here, public and nation emphasize was achieved, by writing the word “Cumhur” as seperate (In Turkish origin, President corresponds to the word “Cumhurbaşkanı” which consists of two words; “Cumhur” and “Başkanı”, where “Cumhur” both means “public” and “republic”). In analysis of political advertisements, another method has been semiotic analysis method. Within the context of this study, “Public Choose Their Republic” political advertisement which was published during Presidential Elections and “Nation not Bendable, Turkey not Vincible” political advertisement which was published during local elections, have been analyzed by semiotic analysis method. In the analysis, narration substructure, colour usage, objective mass and the antagonisms which were formed during interpretation, have been analyzed. “Public Choose Their President” advertisement film is a political advertisement work, in which “nation” theme, all the elements which form nation were situated together within the scenery. “From Exile Country to the Capital of the Capitals” poem, by forming an emotional structure, motivating the the emotional World of voters, aims to provide a voter behaviour along with the path which is aimed. That individuals from different extensions, different cultures and different social elemnts of the country are situated in the advertisement film, refers to the elements which form the “nation”. Political advertisement film has a quality of inducing the emotions of the objective mass, such as fear, angst, aspiration, hope, imagination, love etc. The purpose, here, is a gain in favour of a specific voter behaviour. In this advertisement film, it’s served that Presidency is represented with “nation” theme and its doors are open to public. The political reality, here, is that a representation is achieved through a fiction story in a political advertisement film and the message is transmitted to objective mass. In this advertisement film, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is served as “Nation’s Man” with a representation of nation’s leader, a political actor, whom individuals from every section of the society support and trust. Political campaign process doesn’t contain messages which are independent from actual subjects, economical, political, social and cultural decelopments; on the contrary; contains messages which aim the actuality or to form the agenda. In this context, “Nation not Bendable, Turkey not Vincible” political advertisement film which AK Party used during 30 March 2014 Local Elections, has a quality which refers actual developments.In “Nation not Bendable, Turkey not Vincible” advertisement film, via “nation” theme, the indicator, that all kinds of attacks against nation and independence of nation shall be overcome with union of the nation, was possesed. Usage of Turkish National Anthem and flag icon, make referrence to Battle of Independence. With this advertisement film, which completes AK Party Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s political discourse during election campaign period with emotional formation, it’s served that the country is in a new Battle of Independence and the attacks against independence of the nation shall fail with unification of the nation. It’s implied that the path for the possibility of this shall be supporting AK Party and its leader, by going to polls. Say, via dubbing of Turkish National Anthem with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s voice, there’s a signal that the leader of new Turkey is Erdoğan and support for Erdoğan is a must. In the political advertisements which have been examined in the study, the elements which were used for service and representation of “nation” theme, have been analyzed. It has been concluded that emotional formation and fear attraction elements have been used in political advertisements.