Patriotic background music lyrics in audio-visual advertising and the perception of the qualities of the promoted politician

The article aims to present the results of two laboratory experiments dedicated to determining whether patriotic lyrics in the background music in audio-visual image spots affect the perception of patriotism of a politician. The research used spots by A. Duda and D. Tusk, whose image is well-established. The results indicate that in case of A. Duda the presence of patriotic lyrics in the music, or lack thereof, did not impact the perceived characteristics of the promoted politician. D. Tusk’s spot, however, when accompanied by patriotic lyrics, showed a lower increase in the perceived intensity of the characteristic in question compared to the ad in which only the instrumental background was used. The findings show that, in certain cases, the influence of the lyrics consists in suggesting the criteria of evaluation rather than transferring the connotations, which does not necessarily improve the image of the promoted politician.