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The political posters that backfired – and why you can't fool the internet The political posters that backfired – and why you can't fool the internet
(about 3 hours later)
Is it possible these days to put out an election campaign poster and escape unscathed? Party strategists must be scratching their heads over this question after the latest debacle – the Conservatives’ vision of rural heartlands underpinned by a message of hope and stability. Except it wasn’t Gloucestershire, or even the north York moors. It was somewhere near Weimar.Is it possible these days to put out an election campaign poster and escape unscathed? Party strategists must be scratching their heads over this question after the latest debacle – the Conservatives’ vision of rural heartlands underpinned by a message of hope and stability. Except it wasn’t Gloucestershire, or even the north York moors. It was somewhere near Weimar.
As the birthplace of the doomed democratic republic swept away by the Nazis, Weimar’s political associations aren’t great. But the main problem for the Tories is that the German city is not in Britain. Tip 1 for national politicians: your campaign visuals should focus on the country you want to lead.As the birthplace of the doomed democratic republic swept away by the Nazis, Weimar’s political associations aren’t great. But the main problem for the Tories is that the German city is not in Britain. Tip 1 for national politicians: your campaign visuals should focus on the country you want to lead.
But is there ever any hope of winning out over the merciless scrutiny of the internet? Sitting in party HQ, crossing your fingers that you’re going to be smarter than millions of people with the power to respond instantaneously – is that just a waste of time? Airbrushing will be detected, and ridiculed. Stock photos will be traced, and the other ads they’ve been used in tweeted gleefully. (And if you’re a far-right party launching a “Battle for Britain” campaign, you’d better make sure your patriotic spitfires aren’t Polish.)But is there ever any hope of winning out over the merciless scrutiny of the internet? Sitting in party HQ, crossing your fingers that you’re going to be smarter than millions of people with the power to respond instantaneously – is that just a waste of time? Airbrushing will be detected, and ridiculed. Stock photos will be traced, and the other ads they’ve been used in tweeted gleefully. (And if you’re a far-right party launching a “Battle for Britain” campaign, you’d better make sure your patriotic spitfires aren’t Polish.)
So can powerful images and slogans still be used to sway hearts and minds? Possibly, but not in the way politicians might like. We’ve entered an age of non-linear dynamics when it comes to campaign imagery. Put something out there and you’ve really very little idea of what will be made of it. Arguably the best known image of the (until now informal) campaign for the 2015 general election is Emily Thornberry’s tweet sharing a picture of a house she’d seen in Rochester. Critics claimed it was worth a thousand words on her and her party’s attitude to voters.So can powerful images and slogans still be used to sway hearts and minds? Possibly, but not in the way politicians might like. We’ve entered an age of non-linear dynamics when it comes to campaign imagery. Put something out there and you’ve really very little idea of what will be made of it. Arguably the best known image of the (until now informal) campaign for the 2015 general election is Emily Thornberry’s tweet sharing a picture of a house she’d seen in Rochester. Critics claimed it was worth a thousand words on her and her party’s attitude to voters.
Perhaps the lesson of these gaffes is that it’s time to ditch the campaign poster. Or make it entirely text based: here are five things the Labour party will do for you, full stop. As little additional information that can be thrown back in your face as possible. It’s not exactly Saatchi, but maybe the glory days of top-down political advertising really are over. Take the “Labour isn’t working” series of posters. If they were launched today, how long before every one of dole-queuers would be identified as gainfully employed, or maybe just Belgian? Perhaps the lesson of these gaffes is that it’s time to ditch the campaign poster. Or make it entirely text based: here are five things the Labour party will do for you, full stop. As little additional information that can be thrown back in your face as possible. It’s not exactly Saatchi, but maybe the glory days of top-down political advertising really are over. Take the “Labour isn’t working” series of posters. If they were launched today, how long before every one of the dole-queuers would be identified as gainfully employed, or maybe just Belgian?