The Downsides of Negative Campaigning
Nov. 24th, 2007 02:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
4thofelevenI was rather surprised when I went up to vote today how few Liberal party posters were up there. The side of the polling building seemed to be wall-to-wall Labor ads. I began to speculate that the Libs had spent so much on their constant barrage of leaflets during the campaign that they ran out of money to promote their candidate at the polling station itself...
Then I got a bit closer and noticed that about half the posters WERE Liberal posters. The problem? All of them were warning of the dangers of having Labor governments at the state and federal level. What the Liberal ad designers apparently didn't consider is that, at a glance, the most noticeable element of the poster is a map of Australia with "Labor" written all over it in big letters.
Handy hint for campaign advertising: Make sure your party's name is the dominant element of the poster, not your opponents...
Don't think I'll be watching the election coverage tonight - it's too nerve-wracking. I'm still cautiously optimistic - but I don't want to have my hopes raised and dashed over and over all night long.
Then I got a bit closer and noticed that about half the posters WERE Liberal posters. The problem? All of them were warning of the dangers of having Labor governments at the state and federal level. What the Liberal ad designers apparently didn't consider is that, at a glance, the most noticeable element of the poster is a map of Australia with "Labor" written all over it in big letters.
Handy hint for campaign advertising: Make sure your party's name is the dominant element of the poster, not your opponents...
Don't think I'll be watching the election coverage tonight - it's too nerve-wracking. I'm still cautiously optimistic - but I don't want to have my hopes raised and dashed over and over all night long.