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.
Does anyone still watch broadcast TV?
Wouldn’t it be a lot more cost effective for the Conservative party to put their ads on youtube? They do have the ads on their website which is good but I’d rather see the text of the ads rather than spending 31 seconds watching something that can be read in less than 5 seconds.
@KevinB: libertarians are people who stand for liberty in a consistent manner, not just when it suits their fancy like conservatives.
It was Harper’s stupid idea to hold the G20 in Toronto at a cost of almost 1 billion dollars. The blame starts with him and there’s lots to go around, but Harper has done nothing to address the wrongs done there.
I saw one ad today. I’m not impressed; I never am with attack ads. I’m certainly not voting Liberal, NDP or Green, but ads like this don’t help the Conservatives look better in my estimation.
My biggest problem with Harper is that prior to becoming PM he apparently mostly believed in the right things like a real free market economy, and strongly criticized the disgraces of the human rights commissions and the election gag law, going so far as to take the latter to the Supreme Court. Since he became PM, I haven’t heard a peep in five years, and he certainly hasn’t held the line on government spending or the massive excesses of regulation. He could have been educating the country, but instead he just plows on his merry way, explaining little, and seemingly presuming everyone will accept that he’s doing the right things all the time. It might not lose my vote but it could be much tougher to win a lot of other people’s.
@nv53: and yet Harper can’t even get his numbers up while he’s destroying Canada’s right with your help.
These are good ads, IMO. Reminding Canadians that The Troika (Icky, Jackie and Gillie)) will form a “Progressive’ Soviet style Government based on the wishes of ever greedy, needy Quebec IF Canadians give any of them that oppertunity.
Ken Kulak – What is a Liberal movement (per Tabor)? Does it have anything to do with ‘liberal’ doses of Prune Juice?
I think the ads are effective and accurate. American Iggo and his media whores have been talking election for weeks now, and Iggo is out there pretending to like ice skating, hugging other peoples children and giving speech’s to captive high schoolers. In other words American Iggo is on the campaign trail. What do the “Liberals and MSM think? That Conservatives aren’t allowed to do the same thing? Conservatives should just ignore the election sabre rattling and blatant campaigning and let the media sell Iggo and the “Liberal” party narrative unchallenged? The media don’t like these ads because they are effective and accurate, and it throws them off their co-ordinated selling of the “Liberal’ game plan.
The ads are so true the likes of Giggles Taber et al can’t leave them alone, they give them more publicity just talking about them. Not a bad thing.
Good ads.
“the primary purpose of these ads was a shot across the bow of the Liberals and the NDP”
This.
Last election the Liberal attack ads accused Stephen Harper of being an American lap dog.
This next election, the CPC is pointing out that ‘the Gnat’ is an actual American.
The ads are aimed at the ‘anti-American’ Liberal base in Ontario and removing the “Harper is an American Lap Dog” accusation from their tool box.
I’d like to see ads linking the McGuinty Liberals pandering in Caledonia to ‘the Gnats’ pandering to the Tamil Tiger supporters who took over that bridge in T.O. and show that such behaviour is an expected behaviour from todays Liberals that we can’t afford in todays fragile economy, then link it back to ‘the Gnats’ willingness to form a coalition government with the NDP/Bloc with the possibility pregnant with pandering to the Bloc.
Where are the Liberal Gun Ads? That was the real Secret Agenda.
Go ahead, Iggy. Call an election.
You KNOW that even if you manage to maintain your party’s current number of seats and form the next Coalition government, that you’re going to be forced out in a leadership review, don’t you?
And if the Liberals go down in flames, well then, that’s even more reason for the Liberals to find a new leader. How many people voted for you again? Oh, yes, it was by appointment, wasn’t it?
If – IF – there’s an election this spring, it’s because the Liberals have decided to cut their losses and get rid of Iggy and start fresh. I really doubt that it’s something he personally wants.
IF there is an election this spring it’ll cost over $1 billion in taxes to have it and the CPC will be able to point out that Canadians will be getting their income tax rebates while Americans aren’t getting theirs because their government is broke because of Liberal spending.
Cue ad showing that ‘the Gnat’:
a) is an American
b) is a Liberal
c) likes to tax and spend
Yikes! Tabor’s serious, using the ultimate perjorative insult in Canada: “American-style (whatever)”!
Jema, prune juice and a dose of bull to spice it up.
I like the ads, but holden has a point. Maybe the CPC should have some ads pointing out PM Harper’s government’s accomplishments, future plans and insert these ads here and there just to keep the public from forgetting whi Mr. Iffy is and what he stands for.
I thought the “shot across the bow” (figuratively only) of the plan to end the per vote subsidy was well done.
Socialists are not libertarians.
The Liberals probably can’t afford adds and the CPC has already pumped 4 out.
They’re good adds, they should make one quoting Iggy’s own brother.
These adds are effective because they use Liberals own words directly quoted. How is that wrong?
If the Liebs or dips could find any footage of Prime Minister Steve stepping in it, so to speak, they would have been run by Jane Tazer and her goon squad by now.
That’s why the legacy media don’t like these adds because their exactly what they would do to the CPC if they could during their regular broadcast.
Andrew remembers his arrival in 1962: “We went for a walk and he said, `I want to make one thing absolutely clear to you. When we’re at Aunt Helen’s house or Aunt Charity’s house, you can say whatever you want to me. But if you ever see me on the school grounds, you’re not to talk to me. You’re not to recognize that I’m your brother. You don’t exist as far as I’m concerned. Do I make myself clear?'”
“No, Stephen Harper. During the debates.”
Fair enough. However that’s based on the assumption that Elizabeth May will keep her large mouth firmly closed long enough for PMSH to get a word in edgeways.
Did anyone else notice the Beatles coffee cup?
So, richfisher, you hold something against Stephen Harper that he ‘supposedly’ said to his younger brother in 1962?
Stepehn Harper, who was born in 1959, was 3 years old in 1962.
I don’t even hold the fact that Stephen Harper was a member of the Young Liberals Club against him when he was in highschool in Toronto.
Stephen Harper likes the music of the Beatles and AC/DC.
Sorry richfisher, I realize now that you were refering to Andrew Ignatieff weren’t you?
“I specifically noticed that the add mentions taxes on iPod (!!!) and I think this will get noticed by the majority of younger people. ;-)”
Exactly Ella! I said years ago that it’s time for conservatives to wake the sleeping giant that is the ‘Geek Squad’. When it’s clear to the ‘Geeks’ that the commies are out for their InterWeb, they will disconnect from their World of Warcraft and engage our common enemy.
I love the fact that PMSH played the ‘IPOD’ card.
I believe the correct strategy for the Conservatives is to demonstrate exactly how inconsistent the Liberals have been in the last five years. Regardless of anything the Conservatives have done in five years; the wishy washy inconsistency consisting of Carbon Taxes, Coalitions, Daycare and pretty much anything they can imagine, regardless of what they said just a few months earlier is damning to say the least. The fact is, the Liberals will say and do ANYTHING to gain government, and this can be easily demonstrated with the constant revolving door that is the Liberal leadership and their platform.
Also, I believe the swing votes the Conservatives are really looking for are those of Liberals that are the avowed enemies of the Federal NDP. The leaders of the two parties can try and convince everyone that they are great bed fellows, but most Liberals IMO despise the NDP. The NDP legitimately stand for everything the Liberals are against. At least when the Liberals stood for something. IMO the accusation of a coalition with the NDP is more damaging than the coalition with the Bloc.
I believe the Liberals caused themselves immeasurable damage when they signed the coalition deal. This is the first time in my political life where Liberals will actually have to look in the mirror and ask themselves if they are willing to join forces with the communists. Until now, Liberals have never truly had to consider the consequences of their votes. Until now, Liberals have been able to believe that the Liberal party was a free-enterprise and liberty based alternative to the Conservatives. Today there is no confusion. Today it is clear that a vote for the Liberal Party is a vote for the communists. THAT… is the gift that will never quit giving.
Thank-you Mr.Dion for your mistaken belief that Canadians were finally ready, that Canadians were going to be finally accepting of the true Progressive agenda. Thank-you for finally coming clean with the Liberals’ true hidden agenda. We Conservatives for years have tried to convince Liberal voters of what you have clearly demonstrated with simple the swoosh of your pen.
Well, I would say that they are highly effective if you look at the number of different media stories on these ads this morning. I have counted 13 that obviously are left leaning, and two (Ezra and the Sun) that support the Prime Minister and these ads. My guess is that it is driving the MSN crazy! Why because they can’t stand the truth.
Watch the Liberal ad that Taber links to in her article. Iggy says “boom” to these young kids at least 6 times. I think he should tone down the rhetoric before one of them gets all fired up and does something violent.
Look I am as Tory as the next but some of those are cheap shots & pandering to the lowest common denominator – anti-Americanism, etc. What’s next – accusing him of supporting torture? What crap! Same old same old from another Cdn party that’s found itself in power. The other thing that irritates me is the pandering to immigrant groups that the Tories promised they would stop.
how depressing,
epw
Attack ads no matter how you may feel about their intended victim, or the party producing them, are effective if they are true.
Every point raised in the ads was back up with an attributable source.
Every point about the opposition planning to form a coalition is valid and something the voter has to think about. It makes the next election important enough to motivate people to become informed voters.
And the MSM is no longer the sole providers of information.
The Harper spot will be effective, but not just with women, because it has an unforced message -the claims made all have the ring of truth – who can argue with them, unless the person is very tuned in to politics( and those high information voters can not be swayed by advertising )?
The Ignatieff taxes spot defines Iggy, and not in a good way. This spot too has a nice understated message – Iggy is yesterday’s man.
If the Conservatives maintain this kind of discipline, Harper will get the majority he seeks and deserves.