Finding a sales pitch.

SOMETIMES, even a cursory read inhabits a nook in one's mind. Permanently. In my case, however, it is rarely beautiful poetry or prose with some insights into life but more prosaic political stuff - what else can be expected from those suffering from the 'ghatiya sahafi' syndrome?

Hence, in the recesses of my mind, I can still see an article I read decades ago on the election campaign of Boris Yeltsin. This piece was about how Yeltsin's election victory had been shaped by American men who had secured electoral victories in the US for Bill Clinton, whose election was a landmark.

I didn't remember many of the details but what did stick was how election campaigns were about addressing the voter's apprehensions and image-building. For instance, the piece dealt with the campaign's efforts to change or shape the perception that Yeltsin may be seen as too old to run the government.

Perhaps it was the first time I realised elections were not just an exercise of people's choice but also a part of the advertising industry where politicians were a commodity to be packaged appropriately for consumers.

Two nights ago, I think I found the article again, thanks to Google. A long investigative piece, it details how a group of Americans convinced Yeltsin and those around him to run the election campaign, American-style in which constant polling and focus groups determined what the candidate stood for or should stand for.

Yeltsin was not popular for a number of reasons, including the poorly performing economy, and the team convinced him that the best way to beat the others was to shape himself as 'anti-communist', the man who would make sure Russia didn't return to communism.

The PML-N and PPP seem to think acquiring a social media team in itself is the goal.

The piece came to mind because in recent times there has been considerable talk about the PTI's social media team. In the past year, many in government have argued more than once that the party does well because it spends money, which the others can't necessarily afford.

For some, this money is being spent all over the world thanks to the support of overseas Pakistanis. Some point fingers at the KP government and its hiring while others speak of Imran Khan's singular obsession with it and how he coordinates with the PTI's keyboard warriors himself - at the expense of loftier issues such as governance. Whatever the reason, the rest are struggling to play catch up.

And in the midst of this intense...