How a campaign is spent

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, November 11, 2011 at 12:02 PM - 0 Comments

Alice Funke reviews the financial returns for last spring’s election.

The Liberals also outspent the Conservatives in advertising, $11.9M to $10.6M, when considering both broadcast (TV + radio) and “other” (likely print and/or online). However, the Conservatives concentrated their ad spending on the broadcast side where they outspent the Liberals $10.4M to $8.3M.

The NDP’s spending on advertising fell somewhere in between, coming in at $9.5M for broadcast ads and $10.9M overall.

Pitchmen with pitchforks

By Jessica Allen - Wednesday, August 17, 2011 at 9:45 AM - 0 Comments

Using the qualifier “natural” to sell food to a hungry public is nothing new. But mass-market food advertisers have recently taken the strategy to new heights by getting the people that actually grow the food to sell it, too. A new McDonald’s television ad, which opens with a farmer carrying a bushel of potatoes, drives home the idea that their fries are made with the same potatoes you mash at home. Wendy’s new TV ads show farmer Jim Carter eating the strawberries he grows that end up in the fast-food chain’s new salad. And the latest Lay’s ad campaign features the potato farmers who provide the produce for the company’s chips. (They also include a “chip tracker” on their website, where customers can enter a product code found on bags in order to find out exactly where the potatoes inside were harvested.) The underlying message seems to be, “Our food is made with food. And it’s grown by real farmers.” Continue…

‘If this is how the game is being played, we better figure that out’

By Erica Alini - Friday, July 8, 2011 at 12:35 PM - 81 Comments

The Hill Times talks to Bob Rae.

You said on Tuesday that the Liberals have to be in a position to respond to attacks and that you can’t leave your leader exposed to artillery fire. What’s the plan for preventing that?
“Well, I don’t think it’s a matter of preventing it. I mean, the fact is the Conservatives have demonstrated a determination to do it. It shouldn’t take us two elections to figure this out—that when there are attacks that are made, they should be responded to in an effective way and that means that the party itself has to be turned into a very focused political organization. It also means that everything we do in Parliament and elsewhere sort of has to be connected to that. Financially, we need to reorient our budget so that we’re focused on building up a capacity to respond as well as obviously raising more money and spending it in a more focused way.”

Attack ads in between elections is a recent phenomenon in Canadian politics. How important are they and how does this change Canadian politics?
“I think it’s a mistake to think that you can make up for a lot of lost ground in the 35 days of an election campaign. The fact is that we’re in a mode that has to be seen as a ‘permanent campaign’ and that’s the way in which we have to structure our responses.”

No sex please, they're children

By Leah McLaren - Friday, June 17, 2011 at 11:35 AM - 9 Comments

Chris Helgren/Reuters

Culturally speaking, Britain is not a country known for its flagrant attitude toward sex, but today’s youth are bucking the trend. Teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection rates are shockingly high. But Prime Minister David Cameron seems bent on trying to deal with the problem in a roundabout sort of way. His government recently welcomed a plan to crack down on the sexualization of childhood by placing restrictions on advertisers, media outlets and manufacturers when it comes to sexual imagery or products directed at (or at risk of coming into contact with) children.

The government-commissioned Bailey report, led by Reg Bailey, the head of the Mothers’ Union, a Christian group for family welfare, was published earlier this month. It recommends, among other things, keeping sexualized imagery on the front of newspapers out of sight of children, restricting sexualized imagery in outdoor advertising near schools, nurseries and playgrounds, and enacting restrictions to ensure retailers offer more age-appropriate clothes.

While there’s been much media outrage over T-shirts that say “Future WAG” (shopping-obsessed, super-thin “wives and girlfriends” of sports stars), junior “vajazzling” (applying rhinestone decorations to waxed nether regions), and padded bras for eight-year-olds, not everyone is certain the recommendations, when and if they become legislation, will even be effective in Cameron’s mission to “let children be children.” Some commentators worry that the report is pure politics on the part of the government, and will not result in lasting social change. As Guardian columnist Jackie Ashley recently put it, “It isn’t the problem that’s in doubt, it’s the way it’s been framed and answered.” (She goes on to compare the campaign to grandstanding against childhood obesity and dangerous dogs.)

Continue…

'His failure to define himself was his choice'

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, June 1, 2011 at 10:05 AM - 128 Comments

Conservative campaign chairman Guy Giorno puts his faith in the voters.

Mr. Giorno said Mr. Ignatieff has no one to blame but himself for not taking the time to respond to the ads. The issue was not the fact that Mr. Ignatieff spent so much time living and teaching abroad, he said. Rather, it was his failure to explain his reasons for returning to Canada. “Ordinary Canadians said, ‘it looks like he came back just to run for prime minister,’ ” Mr. Giorno said. “You can agree or disagree with the sentiment, but that was a real-person reaction. His failure to define himself was his choice.”

… Mr. Giorno said the Tories simply let Canadians draw their own conclusions by presenting Mr. Ignatieff’s own words in the ads. “Voters deserve full credit,” he said. “They’re sharp and insightful.”

A war on two fronts

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, April 30, 2011 at 11:00 AM - 36 Comments

The Liberals release two new adverts—one aimed at the NDP, the other at the Conservatives.

This woman seems very concerned

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 2:43 PM - 158 Comments

The Conservative spot that seems in highest rotation at the moment.

Imagine all the people… voting NDP

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 12:42 PM - 70 Comments

The latest spot from the New Democrats.

Half an hour to make his case

By Aaron Wherry - Sunday, April 24, 2011 at 1:46 PM - 87 Comments

The 30-minute Liberal ad that airs across the country today.

Truth in advertising

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, April 22, 2011 at 4:06 PM - 41 Comments

While noting the Conservative campaign’s interest in factual accuracy, the NDP quibbles on various points raised in the new Conservative attack ad.

Coming off a week where the Conservatives were pretty testy about misquotes in TV ads, Stephen Harper released ads that were full of made-up stuff … Making stuff up in TV ads is more proof that Ottawa is broken.

The highest compliment

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, April 22, 2011 at 11:30 AM - 138 Comments

The Conservative side directs an attack ad at Jack Layton.

Smiling Jack

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 5:05 PM - 16 Comments

The latest ad from the NDP.

Direct appeal

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, April 21, 2011 at 9:35 AM - 34 Comments

The Liberals will air a half-hour program on Sunday afternoon showcasing Mr. Ignatieff and the Liberal platform. From the official release:

“Michael Ignatieff’s Town Hall for Canada” will feature candid interviews with Mr. Ignatieff, and exclusive footage of him on the campaign trail in this election as he brings his message of hope to Canadians … “Michael Ignatieff’s Town Hall for Canada” will make the case directly to Canadians why the Liberal Party is the only choice in this election that can protect Canada’s universal public health care system and bring a new level of economic stability to Canadian families through the Liberal Family Pack.

Back and forth

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 12:22 PM - 12 Comments

While the Conservatives aim an attack ad at an attack ad that is no longer running, the Liberals release a new spot based on their online poll.

Does Stephen Harper approve of this message?

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 6:23 PM - 24 Comments

The Liberals have edited and rereleased their disputed ad.

Jack Layton knows where he stands, even when he's sitting

By Aaron Wherry - Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 2:11 PM - 16 Comments

A new advert from the New Democrats.

A companion piece is here.

About that $11-billion

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 2:39 PM - 55 Comments

The latest spot from the Liberal side.

'It's just the beginning'

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, April 13, 2011 at 11:28 AM - 16 Comments

The latest spot from the Conservative side. The Bull Meter has already taken this one apart. Michael Geist, meanwhile, questions the copyright levy the government is already imposing (and has no plans to rescind).

Trainwreck

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 4:25 PM - 8 Comments

The latest spot from the Liberal side.

Rock with them

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, April 12, 2011 at 11:12 AM - 17 Comments

The latest video from the NDP.

When Michael Ignatieff's hair was longer

By Aaron Wherry - Saturday, April 9, 2011 at 12:23 PM - 160 Comments

The Liberals have released three new English clips: one on their family care program, one on the Liberal leader’s experience as a teacher and one on the Liberal leader’s experience as a journalist. There is also a French ad on the red door analogy.

'Not so great'

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, April 8, 2011 at 1:55 PM - 30 Comments

The latest spot from the NDP.

'Stop creeping'

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 12:18 PM - 196 Comments

The latest clip from the Liberal shop.

'A courageous warrior'

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, April 5, 2011 at 3:00 PM - 107 Comments

The Conservative side has released the trailer for Stephen Harper: The Movie.

See previously: Stephen Harper and Canada, a love story, parts one, two, three and four.