The Conservatives launched a new series of ads today.
What say you? Do you think they’re effective?
Update: SDA’s crack research staff (aka our fantastic commenters) have pointed out that Jane Taber isn’t very pleased with the “sinister” ads such as this one.
If Ms. Taber would like to see truly sinister, perhaps this will help her refresh her memory. Here’s how SDA readers reacted to it 4 years ago.
So there’s no election in the offing????
A might too early for these kinds of ads is there isn’t. What’s going on?
As to the ads themselves, a bit bland, I think. Maybe that’s why they are out there – to get some feedback.
YAwn.
Vapid and aimed at people who don’t take politics seriously. About a 3 on a scale of 10.
Nice Beeatch slapping on Iggy . . . he is such a target rich environment for a couple of political whups up side his pinhead.
Very entertaining
Only saw a bit so far on the MSM. They’re already wetting their pants…..so it can’t be that bad.
I think Iggy is vulnerable…. Jacko’s a useful tool.
…Oh yeah, nearly forgot…useful in the sense of fracturing the leftard voting core.
I find it interesting that Kady O Malley is attracted and offended by the only “positive” ad in the bunch.
I think they are effective as long as they stick to the facts.
They should substitute these ads and just play the Iggy speech about John Baird in Callingwood.
The media is squealing about “attack ads” while they ignore Iggy ranting about Baird’s face while a supporter shouts “Kill him.”
Ah, the kinder and gentler folks of the Liberal party.
The MSM talking heads hate them so they’re probably effective
It was either Adler or Spector – I can’t remember which – who, earlier today, said that the primary purpose of these ads was a shot across the bow of the Liberals and the NDP to let them know what they’d be up against if they decided to force an election.
I personally don’t want an election but the political animal in me is most curious to see what number of Canadians change their vote to the Conservatives if they fear the Bloc will be part of a Liberal-NDP Coalition if the Tories don’t win an outright majority.
Spent 30+ years in consumer advertising – those are VERY “effective” commercials, even if you think you “hate” negative ads. Like the Mac ‘cool guy’ vs. IBM ‘nerd’ ads, these are ALL about “define yourself, or your opponent will define you”. Iggy still hasn’t defined himself, so time’s up, these will define him … he’s toast.
The one “Harper as serious leader” commercial will likely only run on ‘women’s’ programs, all soft, serious, unthreatening and relentlessly NICE. The Iggy bashing and Jack Bash will appeal to men more than women.
In short, HIGHLY effective commercials.
Cue the cries from the left of American-style attack ads in 3,2,1…
Jane Taber – The Globe and Mail
“The contrast is stark: American-style television attack ads from the Tories compared to a true Canadian moment from the Liberals.”
I miss the old Paul Martin attack adds. Harper is going to put soldiers with guns in our cities – he said it – it’s the truth.
Those were insane, but at least they were amusing. I think they claimed that Harper was actually Darth Vader at one point…
Jane Taber
“and he is not a bad skater”
I wonder where she has been all of her life , he skates like a 4 year old on bobskates or a fat guy wearing a too tight condom.
Davers6
That would explain the O Malley effect. Thanks.
I love the ads, I think they’re great. The “Rising to the Challenge” ad, which is one of the best political ads I’ve seen, is made doubly effective by the attack ads, and vice versa.
Personally, I’m really happy that the ads focus on the – very real – prospect of a coalition government with the Bloc holding the balance of power.
If Ignatieff and Layton – or any high ranking member of their respective teams – criticize the coalition ads, the obvious question to them will be:
“You say the charge in the ads is ridiculous. Are you willing, then, to go on the record now and give your word to the Canadian that you won’t, under any circumstances, in the event of another Conservative minority, form a coalition government with the Bloc?
The ad is right. They did it once, at the drop of a hat; why wouldn’t they do it again?
Ignatieff and Layton are going to have to answer that question in the next federal election campaign: Mr. (X), on the record, is a coalition a possibility, or not a possibility?
I can’t wait for their answers to this yes/no question.
@ syncrodox – Yes, I suspect Kady O’Malley LIKES the one positive Harper commercial because it’s so blatantly touchy-feely ‘feminine’, and HATES it because it’s Conservative AND IT WORKS!
Oh how tres original (yawn!!).
Gosh, let’s see .. will call an election before shit hits the fan (the housing collapse coming to a neighbourhood near you) .. gee – never seen THAT move before.
I’m curious: for those of you who don’t like the ads, what sort of ads would you like to see instead?
I particularly like the ad that points out that Layton started planning the ’08 coalition well before the budget vote, and then just used it as an excuse for his power grab. That says a lot about his character, but the media skipped right over that juicy detail, instead crapping themselves for weeks over the resulting prorogation. The general public needs to know that the media is biased and self-serving.
I think the ads will accomplish their objective which is call an election in October 2012. Of course they will have another benefit and that is make sure that MIA remains MIA which further weakens the LPC quite apart from the ads.
“I can’t wait for their answers to this yes/no question.”
A simple yes or no will suffice. The answers would indeed be interesting.
However … who is going to ask the question? A CBC reporter? A CTV reporter? They aren’t about to put their favourite politicians on the hot seat.
I find it interesting that there is offense taken about these ads. I also got quite the chuckle about some of the wording in this video…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xS6ZhPmEXO0
You can clearly hear a child referring to Ignatieff as the Prime Minister.
You can also hear Ignatieff declare that ” I should get out on the ice more often…. That was fabulous”…..
If hadn’t left the country for all of those years he wouldn’t have forgotten how much fun skating outdoors is.
Aizlynne…Knowing what shit and fans are is of course prerequisite to avoiding the former hitting the latter.
Just saying.
If Kady O Malley is upset they must be good . . . she’s so in the Liberal Party bag.
The old Liberal ad was ridiculous…so ironic that the conservatives vindicated it when they turned downtown Toronto into a police state for the G20.
Aizlynne – Perhaps of more interest to you … oh, oh, look, something shiny.
So, Jane Taber finds some of the CPC ads “sinister”?
Well, too bloody bad. In context, that is, based on reality, they hit the nail on the head for most of us. We’re not living the la-de-da life Janey is, feeding off the vagaries of a five-party dominion (if you can count the Greenies as a viable party).
We have kids to bring up, bills to pay, and futures to plan but not on the salary and benefits she enjoys. She can afford to have the Liberal$ (Dippers, Bloc, etc.) in power but most of the rest of us can’t.
I can’t wait for the writ to drop. If these ads are any indication of what’s to come, Iggy is going to provide some real comedy. He’s ripe for the pickin’.
I liked all the adds and particularly ones about Ignatieff.
The add about taxes was great. I specifically noticed that the add mentions taxes on iPod (!!!) and I think this will get noticed by the majority of younger people. 😉
Political TV commercials from all parties usually reek. As mentioned, when you are trying to get an emotional response from normally uninterested masses of people, the tools used can be primitive.
The Conservatives should have more ads with prominent members of the cabinet if not back bencher’s. I get a little uneasy when they make it into a kind of cult for Harper. More faces mean more stability. The attack ads are okay, nothing but the truth.
I mean how can you improve of the may gaffs the libs make?
JMO
Biffjr (10:23) “Who is going to ask the question? A CBC reporter? A CBC reporter?”
No, Stephen Harper. During the debates.
Jane’s second paragraph in that Globe article said “The contrast is stark: American-style television attack ads from the Tories compared to a true Canadian moment from the Liberals”.
If there was ever doubt in anyone’s mind as to her political bent the above paragraph should dispel the doubt.
I thought the ads told the truth, but I guess the truth sometimes hurts.
I like the one ad I’ve seen so far, is there more than one yet?
the link at the Globe and Mail has a poll that’s already gone where it should, “Can the Liberals make a breakthrough in 2011 with Michael Ignatieff as leader?”
39% Yes, 61% No.
It’s strange to me that Jane Taber cannot make it past the second paragraph without referring to the ads as being, “American style television attack ads”.
I find the ads effective, a clever use of Michael Ignatieff’s interviews. For me Ignatieff’s
words prompt me to give more to the Conservative Party than I would otherwise.
One may meditate on Stephen Harper not being a very good conservative
but a few words from Duke Michael and my attention becomes very focussed.
Fred at 8:40 PM: “..he is such a target rich environment for a couple of political whups up side his pinhead.
Very entertaining
===============
Fred, do you realize you’ve just set yourself up to the the recipient of blame, should some misfit loner try to assassinate Iggy sometime down the road. Words have consequences, ya’ know.
Did you catch the “unheld Liberal ridings” rhetoric from Jane on QP last weekend?
Unheld Liberal ridings. That’s where Michael is touring….Unheld…Liberal…
That “soldiers with guns” one makes me laugh. I recall only two incidents in Canadian history that came close to “soldiers with guns” “in our cities” became a reality. One was under Robert Bourassa’s term of office in Quebec during the Oka crisis, and the other was at the command of Pierre Trudeau, during the October Crisis, which, come to think of it, also happened in Quebec. Gee. Weren’t both those guys Liberals?
@ syncrodox – “Unheld Liberal ridings”!!! I love it! What a deliciously tortured construct.
“Unheld Liberal ridings” may well be the most revealing phrase to reavel the Liberal mindset of this entire year, and it’s still only January!
Long may they remain “unheld by Liberals”.
Louise-11:37pm- Yeah they were both liberals from quebec. The liberal party of Canada has never had a leader from anywhere west of Ontario.
Revnant Dream at 10:59 PM, I agree.
In addition, I don’t think Harper is going to call an election until much later in the year, or, of course, if the opposition rejects the budget. In both cases, these ads will be stale and forgotten. It’s way to soon.
I think what Harper needs to do is implement some of the things that the Conservative base has been expecting for some time, things like amendments to the Human Rights Act, or fundamental changes to our immigration policy, or weaning the CBC from the public teat, and then see how the Liberals react. That’s time time to call an election and to produce some soundbite ads showing how bankrupt and wedded to the past the Liberals and Dippers are. Of course, Iggy won’t know anything about the past, but that can be used against him in attack adds, too.
I’m sure the only thing the Liberals can come up with during the next election will be defense of long standing Liberal policies and institutions, which I think most people now see as the roots of many of our problems. I don’t think any of these ads actually address that. So, IMHO, I think the ads are far too bland and ineffective, in addition to being too early. And hey, I’m of the female persuasion.
abtrapper at 11:48 PM, not unless you go waaaaaaay back.
Sorry, wrong one.
Minority opinion here, but I’ll share it anyway:
CPC should ignore Ignatieff and should produce ads focussing on what the govt has accomplished in five years…it’s an impressive list. To break out of the 40% polling numbers, the CPC has to give the undecided or swing voters something positive to latch onto. People want to hear “We’re good!”, not “They’re worse than us!”
People like us on these websites have already chosen the horse we want to back. But many Canadians are waiting for a horse to throw their support behind, sometimes right up to election day. Those swing people are turned off by negative ads; even legitimate arguments come across as petty to them.
John Turner.
About eighteen seconds in:
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/#clip402379
Jane intones while Craig does the serious seagull…
I like them all. They are short, sweet and EFFECTIVE.. particularly the one about the firm and steady hand on the reins of government and the ones pointing out just what Layton and Iggy and Giles would do if they got the chance. They almost got away with it.
It points clearly to the fact that Layton and Iggy would make deals with the devil himself in order to gain power.
Now if only the BC Libs had done an effective ad pointing out that the implementation of the HST in BC was, in fact, a tax CUT, they might have fared better against the disinformation campaign by Zalm and his boys.
Making it clear that political ads WORK and cannot be left to the libs to determine the dialog and the landscape.
Since I watched the ads earlier today, I’ve been thinking. They didn’t really strike me as likely to have much impact, because there really isn’t much to go after. YMMV.
However, I think what the CPC might want to consider instead of a national campaign is a regionally-targeted one that makes Iggy out to be an utter buffoon…according to each region’s sensibilities. Of course, in Quebec, they’ll have to included Duceppe at some point and in some manner, but that’s a different kettle of fish. (Perhaps something along the lines of…”separatism” means the gravy train stops dead.)
From the perspective of the west, he had lots of stupid things to say on his bus tour. Heck, some of the things he said could probably be used with different angles of buffoonery in different parts of the country.
The First American Prime Minister in Waiting is certainly one aspect that can be used. But I think ridicule will be more powerful against his count-ness than any other tack. So many aspects to trot out for inspection, so little time: out of touch, elitist, disconnected from Canada, disrespected, academic (I don’t know if it would be good or bad to compare his lack of real-world credentials and the same situation with the bozo down south)…I’m sure others can add to this list. Portraying him as power-hungry is probably a non-starter, as left-leaning voters probably view Harper that way, so that concept probably falls on deaf ears.
Holden’s view also has merit, I think, but I don’t think it’s simply a matter of showing who’s better; voters have to be made aware of consequences for voting for the other guys. Carrot and stick, or something.
Just some thoughts.
libertariansaresmarter:
Um, the atrocities committed in Toronto during the G20 were done by the Toronto Police Force (noted conservative David Miller, mayor), and the Ontario Provincial Police (noted conservative Dalton McGuinty, premier). It was the McGuinty government that passed the secret 20 foot law, didn’t make it public, and then didn’t do anything when the police interpreted it as 200 feet or more.
Oh, ya, it’s all Stevie Harper’s fault.
I don’t think you’re a libertarian at all; I don’t even think you could define the term without help from a search engine.