THE medium is campaign advertising, and the message is vote for me.
But the style of those advertisements can be radically different depending on which place in the race you hold.
The 2007 provincial election has been one of the most active for television advertising, much more so than in 2003 when the Conservatives were skinned and had virtually no money to electronically carpet bomb the electorate.
In this election, however, all three parties have hit the airwaves with advertisements that reveal a lot about their experience, their philosophy and what they think of each other.
The general trends were not hard to predict. The NDP ran hard on its record, the Tories did the most attack ads and the Liberals were the most thoughtful, but also the most misguided.
Here is a summary of how each campaign fared with its campaign advertising:
New Democratic Party
THE ruling NDP has been the busiest advertiser, having produced and broadcast eight television advertisements. The NDP ads run the gamut from pointed attacks on political opponents, to feel-good commercials that could be mistaken for tourism documentaries.
In fact, the NDP has split its roster of advertisements into two distinct motifs: four positive, feel-good ads and four negative, be-afraid-of-Hugh-McFadyen ads.
Highlight: "Manitoba's on a Roll." A tidy 30-second advertisement that shows off the NDP's biggest asset: Gary Doer. The premier is in his element as he celebrates the Red River College downtown campus, universities, construction of the new Manitoba Hydro tower, high technology jobs and a wind farm. The ad finishes with a polished Doer telling viewers: "Manitoba's moving forward and that's what it's all about."
Lowlight: This could be split between two attack ads.
"Debbie Doubletalk," is a fictional Tory translator who tries to reveal the real meaning of Progressive Conservative campaign promises. The advertisement is not all that amusing, and seems somewhat beneath the normally sophisticated NDP marketing machine.
Similarly, "What's at stake?" is a classic attack advertisement. A concerned woman's voice discusses the mayhem that would result from a Tory government while spooky moody music surges in the background. The problem is, like most attack ads, the allegations are mostly wrong and intellectually dishonest, making this spot less about scary Tories and more about worried NDPers.
Final Grade: B+
Manitoba PC Party
Hugh the family man. Hugh the angry man. And the angry, shouting man.
The Tories have offered up seven television advertisements. Without a record to run on, and in no hurry to associate themselves with past Tory administrations, the Progressive Conservatives have worked extra hard to exploit McFadyen's youth and young family. But the majority (five of seven) were negative attack ads, a definite tell that the Tories did not think their own campaign was going to get it done this time.
Highlight: Some observers may like "Promise," a slick 30-second spot showing McFadyen hanging with his adorable family. But it is just too precious to be taken seriously. The highlight was likely "Revolving Door" which, despite its bald tribute to famous campaign advertisements in the U.S., is quite a talker. Smirking criminals go into a non-descript building and are spun back out the revolving door, free as birds. McFadyen provides the voiceover, an unusual choice given that leaders rarely appear in their own party's attack ads. Politicos will love the fact the revolving door in the spot is actually a restaurant, Earl's on Main, implying that we fed criminals nachos and crantinis before releasing them to prey on the public again.
Lowlight: There is a lot to choose from here.
The "Angry Man" ads, a string of three ads which feature a local actor yelling into the camera and gesturing wildly with cartoon sound effects to embellish his every move, are unusual but childish and off-putting. There are a few laughs, but we're not laughing at the actor, we're laughing at the Tories.
But remarkably, that isn't the lowlight of the Tories' advertising campaign.
An ad the Tories call "Worried" is beyond hyperbole; it's downright dangerous in its irresponsible portrayal of downtown Winnipeg. It's hard to tell if the ad people think this gloomy image is realistic, or whether they are aware they're essentially lying to voters.
Final Grade: C
Manitoba Liberal Party
Jon Gerrard is prominently featured as not only leader of the Manitoba Liberals, but also leader on the issues most important to voters. The Grits have placed four ads on Manitoba airwaves, all of the 30-second variety. The general theme of both advertisements: "They (as in the NDP and Tories) don't deserve your vote."
Highlight: "Jon Gerrard, Health Care Leader," shows off the best strategy for the Liberals and their leader. Gerrard does understand health care, although his approach to policy is pretty wonkish and overly complicated. The ad also contains an ambitious, if somewhat clumsy, attempt to kill two birds with one stone. As the third party, the Liberals can't afford to ignore any opponent. In health care, that means convincing voters that the NDP government got it wrong and the Tories, if allowed to govern, would give it all away. "The NDP's failure puts your health care at risk of being privatized by the Tories." Kudos as well to "Jon Gerrard Environment Leader," a nifty commercial that shows just how bad all parties have been at cleaning up Lake Winnipeg.
Lowlight: There wasn't a clear dog in this kennel, although the Liberals show some unusual choices in subject matter. Two of their four ads focus on NDP failures on health care. Unfortunately for the Grits, the public thinks that generally the NDP has done a pretty good job. A third ad focuses on NDP failures to bolster social services and protect children. It's an effective spot with solid facts to back up its criticism. Once again, however, it's unfortunate that voters don't generally care about social programs as an election issue.
Final Grade: B-
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