Thursday, January 21, 2010

Was THAT Poster a Success?

Stratford Conservative has written a blogpost questioning whether this poster has backfired on the Conservatives. He thinks not. I tend to agree. Any poster which is still being talked about two weeks after it first appeared has to have something going for it. Cameron dealt with the airbrushing issue with good humour and I think the fact that it has generated 74,000 new versions rather speaks for itself.

I think my only question about the poster is why did every poster say the same thing? OK, you get uniformity of message, but if there had been five or six slogans I don't think the main message would have been diluted. But then again, what do I know?

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Let's edit slightly what Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson, who chairs the party’s working group on women’s policy, said:

"Adverts that feature heavily retouched images of perfect skin, perfect hair and perfect figures mean that VOTERS increasingly feel that nothing less than perfect will do.

Advertisers should be honest and upfront about the extent of airbrushing that goes on. It is frankly dishonest to advertise an anti-wrinkle cream and then airbrush out all of the wrinkles in the ad. And it is simply irresponsible to take already underweight POLITICIANS and then slice off pieces of their thighs or hips in the computer suite.

Consumers should have as much information as possible and VOTERS should have the space to develop their self-esteem without constantly being bombarded with a narrow range of manipulated images that promote conformity."

Rabyrover said...

I live in a Labour held marginal. There are hardly any large billboards in the constituency, so I question the value of a campaign that will be invisible to most of the voters here.

Tim Leunig said...

My wife said it sounded false - what will he cut??

dazmando said...

Is Yes and No an answer?

Yes its every where and I do know alot of people have seen them and the message is noce and clear. I think the Torys do now look very good on the NHS, no longer can Labour be the party of the NHS.

NO the airbrush comments did not wash well or the fact that this makes Cameron appear presidential. We are voting in a party as well as a leader. I imagine most people would look at the web site as just a laugh and that wont effect the Tory vote

Nigel said...

>>Any poster which is still being talked about two weeks after it first appeared has to have something going for it<<

There's only one thing worse that being talked about...

... and that's being laughed at.

ukipwebmaster said...

This is our take - enjoy:

http://www.westbournemouthukip.com/content/images/Dave_Blair.jpg

(Still haven't made the Daley dozen yet)

:-(

Weygand said...

People are still talking about Hitler, and are subject to never-ending versions of the Downfall video, even though the last time he presented himself for election was more than 60 years ago.

I would not, however, see a reincarnated Fuhrer polling well.

If you really think that this advertisement has done any good for the Conservative Party you need a reality check.

I trust those in Central Office have learned their lesson.

Sean said...

I'm not sure.

People say there's no such thing as bad publcity, but the "Demon Eyes" posters did the Tories no good at all even though they were much talked about about.

I think in reality this poster will soon be forgotten.

And just as well. The commitment to the NHS may be politically wise, but is bad for the country. I don't accept there's no waste to be cut and I can't justify leaving the NHS budget pristeen while cutting the budget for our amed forces who are clearly in deadly danger every day.

Unknown said...

It is indeed still being talked about - it is being mocked and Mr Cameron with it.

Airbrushed or not it has done the Tory party no good at all!

Anonymous said...

@unsworth - did jo swinson claim cosmetics on her MP expenses? I don't think so. Hey, there's nothing wrong with being well groomed - but DC looks like he is promoting botox in that ad!! His PR team need to get a grip.

Anonymous said...

@unsworth - too funny!! I really can't bear most politicians these days. Unreal.

The fact remains - DC looks like he's done a Kylie. It's just wrong. BOTOX® is the wrong signal to put out to the voters! :)

Anonymous said...

It was successful if the goal was to make Cameron look like a botoxed camel who's just caught sight of the Grim Reaper.

Otherwise, not so much.

Unsworth said...

@ Canvas

That you can't bear most of them these days is interesting. I never could bear any of them, ever. As to Botox, what about Brown's interesting makeup disasters? Remember the orange patch? Still at least Cameron doesn't chew his nails and pick his nose - in public, anyway - and he seems to know how to get dressed as well.

Brown always looks to me as if he'd been forced into his clothes, probably with aid of cranes, jacks, levers and other mechanical devices. As I've said elsewhere, I simply cannot understand how any individual can so ruin Savile Row's finest efforts. It's an art, obviously.

Carl Eve said...

No - being spoken negatively about two weeks after it's launch is not a success.

You'll be telling us Kraft chocolate will be lovely next

Independent England said...

I certainly think it was a success for anyone who wants to expose the truth



http://independentengland.blogspot.com/2010/01/election-poster-you-wont-see.html