"Fast Food is the city's gift to its citizens, and fast food's best friend has always been ketchup, that red syrupy non-liquid liquid that has a dominant taste and can be used on anything.
"In the advertisement campaign of candidates of the 10th Presidential Elections, currently underway, a similar magic formula is being used. In official or unofficial promotional films of candidates that circulate in the Internet or on TV, music is used in a similar fashion.
"'Ey Iran,' a popular nationalist anthem composed before the 1979 revolution, has a particular appeal to Iranians. So much so that it outlasted the early revolutionary zeal to rid the country of all nationalistic tendencies. Today, it has been manipulated and used in campaign ads of {Mahmood Ahmandinejad}, the incumbent candidate, and seldom marked for his patriotism. 'Sar Umad Zemesoon' ('Winter's Over'), a leftist anthem which at some point after the revolution of 1979 was reason for its murmurer to end up in jail, is today being used by {Mirhossein Mousavi}, the main reformist contender, known for his religious fervor. 'Yar Dabestani' ('Fellow Classmate'), a call-for-unity song that the Reformists appropriated is now co-opted by {Mohsen Rezaee}, known for coming to the race to detract votes from his fellow conservative Ahmadinejad. These are some examples of the use of music as ketchup.
"In fast food joints, ketchup is made freely available, and you are invited to help yourself generously, simply because it makes the food edible. The same seems to be true with campaign anthems: They are generously offered by candidates to hide various messages in their campaign that may not taste so good."
Source: Tehran Avenue (Iran), By Ramin Sadighi, June 2009
