But I’ve never thrown myself under a bus either…
February 16, 2010 · 1 Comment
→ 1 CommentCategories: Labour Party UK
I’ve Never Voted Tory
February 16, 2010 · 2 Comments
The Conservative Party have released 3 new posters, carrying the headline ‘I’ve Never Voted Tory before’. The aim for this set of adverts is clear (indeed they’ve essentially written the brief as the headline): to get people who’ve never voted Conservative to reconsider their previous preference.
These executions are so inoffensive, vanilla and generic that it’s almost as if they’ve come straight out of a ‘previous Labour voter, now considering Tory’ research group and made the three most re-occuring themes into posters. That’s not how to use research. It should be a platform for a creative leap, not a dictat as to what you should put as your next headline.
In 1997 millions of people voted for New Labour who, even 2 years prior, would have not considered it even in their wildest dreams. The Conservatives are trying to replicate that broad coalition of support. However, you don’t build broad support just through poster campaigns and I wonder if enough people are clear about what the Conservatives would do to address the various policy areas they reference. Yes, they drive people online for more information, but big poster campaigns are primarily a broadcast medium - why not use it to shout your point of view on a given issue?
This is the 3rd poster campaign (RIP Off and We can’t go on like this) in 2 months and each one has been so different in content and tone that it’s almost schizophrenic. Obviously, these poster campaigns are largely used to dictate the news agenda and having a consistency of tone, look and message isn’t as important as it is for a non-political brand. But by being so inconsistent in your approach you can begin to look erratic and nervous. Two qualities that do not communicate ‘government-in-waiting’.
→ 2 CommentsCategories: Conservative Party UK
Tagged: 2010, conservative poster, i've never voted tory
Robin Hood Tax
February 15, 2010 · 1 Comment
The Tobin Tax has had something of a re-brand. And a very successful one too. The Facebook page has nearly 70, 000 fans and the promotional video has had nearly 100, 000 views.
For those unfamiliar with the Tobin / Robin Hood Tax it is a proposal for a tax of 0.05% on international bankers’ transactions. Supporters claim it could generate hundreds of billions of pounds every year which could be ploughed into international development and public services.
The above film goes on slightly too long but is gently amusing and quietly powerful. The key to increasing momentum will be to regularly release ever more entertaining and convincing content.
Putting together a good first video and getting launch publicity is relatively easy, but to turn warm public interest into genuine mass support, that will make politicians take notice, is incredibly hard.
→ 1 CommentCategories: UK Issue based
Tagged: robin hood tax, tobin tax
David Camera On / David Camera Off
February 10, 2010 · 1 Comment
The Labour Party have released a new poster featuring David Cameron. It’s a double-pronged attack advert that accuses Cameron of being both two-faced and anti-patient care.
Given Cameron’s recent admission that he has sent out mixed messages on various policies, I imagine lots of people will sympathise with the Labour Party’s accusation in this piece of communication.
Apart from everything, Camera On / Camera Off is a clever, and some would argue fitting, pun on the Tory’s leader’s name. Good stuff.
→ 1 CommentCategories: Labour Party UK
Tagged: camera off, camera on, Labour Party, poster
My Tory Tombstone
February 10, 2010 · 1 Comment
This is the latest piss-taking Tory Poster generator – mytorytombstone.com. The website invites people to make their own version of the Tory’s latest poster.
Another bit of fun, but after the huge popularity of mydavidcameron.com this feels slightly ‘morning-after-the-night-before’.
There has been a huge outpouring of commentary from adland about what the effect social media is having on this year’s election; everyone from Claire Beale to Advertising Age and Saatchi&Saatchi are starting to get excited about the prospect of a lively online contest.
So whilst this bit of fun isn’t quite as fun as the last bit of fun, we’re all very excited about how much fun this election will be.
→ 1 CommentCategories: Labour Party UK
Tagged: maker, mytorytombstone, poster, tombstone, tory
R.I.P Off – Labour Death Tax
February 10, 2010 · 3 Comments
The Conservative Party have released a new poster criticising, what they are calling, Labour’s death tax.
This poster is something of a cheap gag. The pun in the headline makes the issue feel like a football in a game of playground politics. If this is a topic that the Conservative Party genuinely think will be salient with the electorate, then there are innumerable numbers of harder hitting executions that could have been used.
Not only this, if I was David Cameron working tirelessly every day to shake of the ‘nasty party’ image, I wouldn’t thank my marketing department for allowing a huge billboard to be erected featuring a tombstone and blacked out version of the party logo.
I’m afraid this one feels like a bit of an own goal.
→ 3 CommentsCategories: Uncategorized
Tagged: death, gordon, labour, r.i.p, tax, tombstone
Vote for students
February 8, 2010 · 1 Comment
The National Union of Students have launched a campaign that seeks to harnass the student vote in this year’s general election in order to prevent candidates who support increasing university fees getting elected.
It’s a clever campaign, based on the insight that no MP would like a bunch of angry student activists stirring up trouble in their constituency at a general election, which looks increasingly like it could be a close one.
The NUS want MPs and prospective parliamentary candidates to fess-up as to whether they’d increase the top-up between now and the election. That way they can tie the post-election hands of those would-be-MPs who would like to court the student vote pre-election and target those who are not supportive of their cause for some serious electoral aggro.
→ 1 CommentCategories: Uncategorized
Tagged: NUS, vote for students
New Labour Party ad
February 7, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Will the Labour Party feature Gordon Brown in a single piece of communication between now and the election? On this showing, I would suggest not to.
Above is a nice new advert the Labour Party have put out. It’s clearly going after the Middle-England demographic that Cameron and the Conservatives have been so successful in courting for the past few years.
The ambition of the advert is to make the voter think that, perhaps things are starting to look up with the economy and a change of government would put this recovery at risk. It’s not just the Conservative’s who can benefit from instilling a feeling of conservatism.
The sentiment of the communication is overwhelmingly upbeat, which isn’t easy to do as an imcumbent government. The ‘nice and normal looking family’ look nice and normal looking. The headline is well crafted. If I had to change something, I would have kept the whole headline in white out of red, as oppose to using the black. But broadly, this is a decent piece of advertising.
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Labour Party UK
Tagged: advert, economy, Labour Party
iLabour
January 22, 2010 · Leave a Comment
The Labour Party have announced that they intend to release an iphone application next month. The app will feature local Labour Party events, searchable by postcode. Perfect if, woe betide you, you find yourself away from your local branch and have no idea where your next campaigning fix will come from.
It will also support a mobile version of the party’s Virtual Phone Bank, which enables supporters to call potential voters and enter details into an online database. Now those comrades with iphones are able to perform their caller ID duty to the party whether they’re waiting for a bus or standing in a picket line.
→ Leave a CommentCategories: Labour Party UK
Tagged: app, application, iphone, labour
Super Bowl anti-abortion ad due to cause storm
January 18, 2010 · Leave a Comment
This advert by Catholicvote.com was banned from last year’s Super Bowl ad break (watched by 95 millions people and something of a cultural event in the USA) yet the cause is set to raise its controversial head again this year:
“The former Florida quarterback and his mother will appear in a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl next month. The Christian group Focus on the Family says the Tebows will share a personal story centering on the theme ‘Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life.’ The group isn’t releasing details, but the commercial is likely to be an anti-abortion message chronicling Pam Tebow’s 1987 pregnancy. After getting sick during a mission trip to the Philippines, she ignored a recommendation by doctors to abort her fifth child and gave birth to Tim.”
→ Leave a CommentCategories: USA Issue Based
Tagged: abortion, advert, super bowl
