The modern man is surrounded by all kinds of commercial and advertisement, but with the coming elections the calls to buy this or that fridge or yogurt alternate with stories about this or that political force. However, according to the law, before the official start of election campaign even the Central Election Commission cannot influence nor do something about it.

"Before the official start it is just a political commercial, and within the law the CEC cannot influence or ban it," CEC official Ihor Zhydenko says.

ForUm has asked the politicians and experts whether the political commercial will turn into a mass attack and what innovations to expect after the official announcement of the campaign's start.

Dmytro Korchinski, the leader of "Brotherhood", president of the Institute of regional policy and modern political science:

- It would be nice to see something different and fresh, because the current political publicity is old-fashioned and pathetic. This year candidates do not show much of a creative thinking.

However, on the other hand, the practice proves that creative approach does not mean much, while quantity can may a difference. The more political publicity the better it works. The quality is no longer important - there is nothing new these people can tell us.

Taras Berezovets, political strategist, director of "Berta Communications" company:

- I cannot say that the pre-election publicity is somehow memorable. The publicity of some candidates is interesting, but does not meet the needs of the people. The publicity of others has been overinvested - it appears too often and changes the subject almost every week. Some publicity lacks quality, which works against the rating of this party, while the sincerity of others is considered as a weakness.

Andriy Parubiy, MP from the NUNS (Our Ukraine) faction:


- In order not to violate the law, the majority of political forces do not use the direct "Vote for us", but after the official announcement of the campaign's start and CEC official permission, it will be used openly.

It is hard to tell to what extend the election campaign will be dirty, but for sure, the campaign and publicity will be hard-edged.

Serhiy Taran, political scientist, director of the International institute of democracy:


- This election campaign will focus on bribing - buckwheat and canned goods will make the difference. The advertising space also plays its role, but it is not the 'weapon' the candidates intend to win with. Placards and billboards just point out the status of a candidate, his political weight and seriousness of intentions. Of course, the political publicity will become more frequent and I believe the people will be 'attacked' by mass mail distribution of leaflets. But I don't think there will be some new tricks.

Artem Bidenko, political scientist, executive director of the outdoor advertising Association:

- The crisis peak has passed and current political players understand that in case of victory they can return the finances invested in the election campaign. One part of politicians is ready to occupy the media space, while the others focus on the fieldwork. As for the aggressive entry into the outdoor advertisement, back in July we observed the left and quasi opposition forces 'hanging' here and there. In autumn, I believe we will see more 'hanging' politicians, especially single-mandate candidates.

During this year election campaign, we also expect "guerrilla warfare", when many candidates not having the administrative resources will use all possible methods to get into the news.

The outdoor advertisement again becomes a popular political trend, as a relatively cheap and effective carrier to provide candidate awareness. One of the innovations of the political outdoor advertisement is multimedia screens, which enable to expand range of communication with the audience and to reach central districts of cities. The combination of TV activity and omnipresent outdoor advertisement gives amazing results sometimes.

Oleksandr Holobutski, political scientist, deputy director of the simulated event Agency:

- Visual political publicity is expected to increase in many times, as many political forces have not even started the election campaign. However, I don't think the candidates consider the outdoor advertisement as their best card.

Every party and candidate chooses his or her own strategy. Some forces believe the earlier they start the better results they will obtain. Others believe the publicity should start in the last months so the voters remember their active 'mighty push'. Some candidates focus on appearance and goodwill. Others prefer more aggressive tactics.

Volodymyr Paniotto, sociologist, director of the Kyiv international sociology institute:

- It's curious that nobody ever conducts surveys on effectiveness of political publicity. There are general recommendations, based on marketing, but political forces mostly use traditional methods and nobody cares to investigate if this or that method is effective. Personally, I have not see any innovations in the political publicity this year.

Denis Bohush, political strategist, president of Bohush Communications, vice president of Ukrainian PR league, member of international public relations association (IPRA):

- All this 'hanging' publicity is legal, as the law on elections has not come into force yet. Moreover, according to the law, this publicity cannot be considered a political advertisement until a political force or a single-mandate candidate is registered in the Central Election Commission. Only after the registration the publicity must be financed from the election fund, but until then this all is a personal matter.

There will be no innovations in the political publicity, and the advertisement will vary by quality. Some advertisements are interesting, while others are very bad. In some regions people are treated like animals: some politicians believe that a kilo of buckwheat for a hungry person is enough to get a vote.

Are the slogans too much soviet-type? Well, some voters with soviet mentality buy only soviet slogans, and certain creativity like English-language appeals will be merely ignored.

As for the political attack, it is the same as before. However, there are candidates who spend tens of millions of dollars without any guarantee they win parliamentary seats.

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