Jason Wilson has an excellent post over at Restless Capital on the history of political advertising, and a classification of the various types of ads.
In case you need a reminder that some political ads have always been terrible, I offer this example cherrypicked from Wilson’s post:
Apologies in advance if that gives you nightmares.
So, this thread is a roundtable where you can discuss anything to do with political advertising, particularly in this campaign.
*wipes blood from eyes* aiieee!
I just discovered that the Libs have rejigged the Kevin O’Lemon ad to have it as Labor Lemons. It’s marginally less painful to watch than the jingoistic jingle ad, I guess #damningwithfaintpraise
That one really bugs me, actually, because it’s sneakily effective in undermining what are actually Labor’s strengths on at least 3 of the 4 points:
1. “End Wasteful Spending” – i.e. spending that kept people employed was wasteful – your jobs are a waste, voters!
2. “Pay Back Labor’s Debt” – a debt that is at a negligible level compared to other countries and which is, again, keeping programs afloat that are keeping people’s jobs going.
3. “Stop Labor’s New Taxes” – taxes which are all about making sure that big business pays its fair share as it rakes off the cream from the hard slog done by the workers
4. “Stop the Boats” – but not the planes, apparently. We’ve already been over how this issue is essentially just a useful boogie-man, anyway.
Does anyone know if that “independent Country party candidate” dude’s 1949 ad shown on the Gruen Nation on Wednesday night is on YouTube? Loved it!
Presumably it was a newsreel style thing shown before films, since tv didn’t exist in Australia at the time.
It’d be interesting to know more about pre-tv political advertising.
Mark, here ’tis:
I’ll head off to look at mm shortly, but tigtog’s comment is accurate: it’s all agit prop. As to dotpoint, hogwash but folk should neither over or under estimate the gullibility of the electorate, despite Glen Stevens, John Quiggin Gittins, Davidson and so forth.
Surely people can connect the dots as to Britain and Cameron, then Abbott, just now?
Wake up, Australia!
@3 – Thanks so much, Viv – love it!
Some time in the early 1980s Bob Ellis described John Howard as having ‘a voice like a tin of cat food that has been left open all night’. Some things never change.
So, is a reported “smear campaign” by the ALP against Tone, the way to go?