INFLUENCE OF POLITICAL ADVERTISING SLOGANS ON VOTER PATRONAGE OF PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES IN NIGERIA

This study investigates the influence of political advertising slogans on voter patronage of presidential candidates in Nigeria, focusing empirically on the landmark of 2023 presidential election cycle. Driven by the competing narratives between political marketing models that view slogans as potent cognitive short-cuts and structural-behavioral accounts that prioritize deep-seated structural variables (ethnicity, religion, party machinery). The study evaluates four key variables; electorate exposure, cultural/linguistic/emotional resonance, perceived message credibility, and actual voting choice (voter patronage). Using a descriptive survey research design, quantitative data were gathered through a structured 20-item questionnaire administered to a multi-stage stratified sample of 1,200 respondents across the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. Demographically, the sample was balanced across age, gender, educational qualifications, and regional layout. Stepwise multiple regression analysis and Pearson Product-Moment Correlation techniques were used to test four null hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The empirical findings reveal that while exposure to high-profile slogans such as the All Progressives Congress's (APC) 'Renewed Hope', the People's Democratic Party's (PDP) 'Atiku-lated/Recover Nigeria', and the Labour Party's (LP) 'Obidient/We No Dey Give Shishi' was universally high (89.5%), exposure alone had a weak, non-significant linear relationship with actual voter patronage (r = 0.142, p > 0.114), thereby rejecting H01, and conclude that there is a significant relationship between the level of exposure to a presidential candidate’s slogans and the ultimate patronage of the candidate. Conversely, slogan resonance particularly through linguistic tools like Nigerian Pidgin and cultural context and perceived source credibility demonstrated highly significant positive relationships with voter patronage, rejecting H02 and H03. The composite linear regression model showed that exposure, resonance, and credibility jointly accounted for 41.2% of the total variance in voter patronage (R² = 0.412, F = 205.41, p < 0.001), thus rejecting H04. Crucially, structural factors like candidates' past track records and ethno-religious affiliations continue to act as major heavy-weight mediators, with 52.4% of the electorate emphasizing that a slogan only converts to an actual vote if it matches the perceived integrity and historical background of the candidate. The study concludes that political slogans in Nigeria serve as critical peripheral cues for brand awareness and social identity construction, but fail as stand-alone drivers of transactional vote switching. It recommends that political parties move beyond empty linguistic entertainment and craft policy-driven, highly credible slogans tied closely to authentic institutional track records