Nominated by the Finnish Political Science Association

Abstract

In this article Relevance Theory, a variety of cognitive linguistics, is applied to televised political advertising, extending the theory to cover audiovisual communication besides its traditional use in studying verbal communication. According to Relevance Theory signification in any communicated message is more complicated than the standard semiotic theory claims. More profound mental processes must take place prior to the moment of perceiving the message as composed of coded elements. With examples drawn from the Finnish campaign for the 2004 European Parliamentary elections, the article shows how these prior mental processes operate to produce the appearance of coded messages. To understand how relevance works, it is important to pay close attention to strategies applied by campaign teams in creating TV spots. It is also argued that relevance theory, better than semiotics, can be used in bridging political advertising and political practice and upgrading the status of political advertising as a serious art of politics.

Recommended Citation

Mykkanen, Juri (2007) "Strategy, Relevance and Meaning: On the Use of Context in the Finnish European Elections 2004," World Political Science Review: Vol. 3 : Iss. 1, Article 2.
Available at: http://www.bepress.com/wpsr/vol3/iss1/art2