The Better Together campaign in Scotland have this week released the above billboard.
Having received widespread criticism for running a negative campaign, Better Together have clearly decided that some positive posters are the order of the day.
I think this is a mistake.
It is the role of challengers to sell anger about the status quo – something which the Yes campaign have been doing to no small degree, albeit occasionally blended with messaging around hope.
However, it is the role of the incumbent to sell fear of change. If they fancy sticking some ‘there’s still so much to do’ in there for good measure, fine. But the fear should be non-negotiable.
Better Together should not allow themselves to be put off course by the Yes campaign’s complaints about the tone of their campaign. When polling day comes, it will not be vanilla, forgettable copy and imagery like the above which will make the electorate think twice about putting a cross in the ‘yes’ box.
