I recently Blogged on the effectiveness of attack Ads, and how Canadians generally feel about political parties using these tactics. Much to my surprise I found an official email from the Liberal Party of Canada containing what they consider the failures of Harper and his Conservative Government. At the bottom of the email was a link to the Liberal Party of Canada’s site which included a quiz: “Which abuse of power is the Harper regime’s greatest legislative accomplishment of 2011.” The purpose of the email was to inform me of what the government has done wrong, while giving me a chance to vote on the worst decision the government has made.
The Liberals have taken a different approach to attack Ads that have been recently used by the Conservative Party. The email and information on their website allows for an interactive and engaging look into the current political climate. Although the quiz presented by the Liberals is negative in nature it comes across as information. The attack Ads used by the Conservatives are vastly different as they are personal attacks on the Liberal Leader and his choice of home for the past 20 years.
If you’re going to use attack Ads to convey a message never personally attack someone’s life choices or how they have lived in the past, especially when it’s irrelevant. The Conservatives have on many occasions attacked the Liberal leader for spending so much time in the United States. I find it odd that the most Conservative and pro American PM would criticize Ignatieff for living in the United States. The fact is that the Conservatives fear the Liberals, and know that pose a serious threat if an election were held. Whatever your political views may be, you have to have an opinion on attack Ads. How do you feel about using attack Ads to criticize a person’s life outside of politics?
The quiz is definitely a new twist on attack ads. The Liberals have found a way to make attack ads interactive.
ReplyDeleteAs for attack ads, I think there is a fine line between criticizing one's political agenda and their personal life. In the case of the Conservative's attack ads against Ignatieff, I think it backfired and people realize this is irrelevant to the Liberal's political agenda. I think attacking a person's life outside of politics is unacceptable and people realize it is a desperate attempt to distract people from the political agendas.
Attack ads can be very controversial and annoying at times. I know a part of politics is the personal life of many of the politicians, but I really wish this wasn't an aspect. I find it very hard to focus on what politicians are really pushing for when the personal aspect becomes such a major focus
ReplyDeleteMay I just say that the Liberals have to find a new way to get their message across because they literally can't afford to put ads up? The Tories know how to fundraise and the Liberals cannot match it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the Conservatives are bringing up legitimate points that the media fail to recognize. I won't go into my usual "left-wing" media rant, but take a look at this clip from CTV.
http://www.bluelikeyou.com/2011/01/28/more-evidence-ctv-is-shilling-for-the-liberals/
Great blog though!
Nathan,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your post on Ad Attacks! Every time I watch one, I can't help but feel slightly uncomfortable and a little embarrassed for the party who is doing the "attacking." I think that a party should focus on its own credibility, ideas, and message to show to the public, and not use those few seconds to attack the opposition. That's just my opinion though!
I found this interesting (and i understood it). What example are they setting for youth? it is ok to make judgments on peoples personal life, when it is unrelated to the task at hand?
ReplyDeleteAnd, you said they e-mailed you right after your post? They must do a great job of monitoring the interest, especially blogs. Very interesting.
Attack Ads are an interesting subject, and one I am glad you decided to write about. Personally, I find attack ads to make the party releasing them make worse than the party receiving the attacks. Political parties should create ads that focus on what they are doing, not what their competitors are doing wrong.
ReplyDeleteAs has been said in the past, parties use attack ads because they work. This is an unfortunate reality of our political climate.
ReplyDeleteAs for making the ads personal,it is more business as usual. We've witnessed in the past the relative success of Liberal attack ads which included personal attacks of Prime Minister Harper during the 2004 election which was won by Paul Martin. As the Liberals found out next year though, personal attacks are only band-aids. In the end I do trust that Canadians care more about issues than they do about one minister's personal habits or history, even the Prime Minister. So maybe the personal attacks on Ignatieff are not a positive omen for the Conservatives (though polls would suggest otherwise). Another great read on your blog Nathan
Attack ads are just white noise. I vote for the guy who I think is least likely to screw me over and not based on what rival parties think of them.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting post. I never take Attack ads very seriously. I usually find that they make the party who creates them look worse than the party they are attacking. I think political parties should focus their ads on what they are doing, not what they find wrong with their competitors.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I can be easily swayed by ad attacks :S I know when I watch the pro Stephen Harper ads that bash Michael Ignatieff I find myself judging the Liberals and siding with the Conservatives. Im probably a politicians dream haha
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, the attack ads do work. I think that this type of ad though gives a negative connotation to politics because it is rude and aggressive. Although as others have mentioned they are strictly business, they still reflect negatively on politicians.
ReplyDelete