Ad Watch – Not him. Not now.
Wednesday, 4 March 2009 State and federal politics 2 comments
After off-loading responsibility for the downturn, Labor needs to convince why it can make a difference at all.
Best of Australian politics 2007
Sunday, 23 December 2007 State of the parties 12 comments
Good political moments are those when the fog suddenly clears and a shift in the balance of forces is revealed.
Ad Watch – The differences between Rudd and Howard
Saturday, 17 November 2007 Tactics Comments Off
Labor assumes in this ad that it is time to stop being defensive and neutralising coalition attacks and start to focus on their differences to Howard (some real, some less so). Most importantly, they now seem to think it is finally time to treat Howard like a bit of a joke.
Ad Watch – You’ve lost me/lost touch
Wednesday, 14 November 2007 Tactics Comments Off
Having been fairly critical of Labor’s campaign recently, these two ads are not that bad.
Falling, not pushed, from power
Monday, 12 November 2007 Tactics Comments Off
Me-too on policy is political reality, me-too on tactics is not. Objective conditions are undermining the Liberals grip on power so Howard’s tactic is to obscure those conditions and break the campaign down. Labor’s tactics should have been to clarify what those conditions are.
Ad Watch – Garrett
Monday, 5 November 2007 Tactics Leave a comment
There are two, slightly conflicting, messages in the Liberal’s response to Garrett’s gaffe that is repeated with what they say against union influence on the front bench.
On the one hand it is the incompetence of Garrett/union bureaucrats that is the problem, on the other hand they are clever enough to impose their secret agenda [...]
Movement is not momentum
Friday, 19 October 2007 Tactics Leave a comment
Howard’s insistence on an early debate this Sunday is for one reason only, for the morale of the core supporters and media who are likely to be the main ones taking notice of it.
Ad Watch – Economy central to everything/Labor’s response
Wednesday, 17 October 2007 Tactics Comments Off
Yet while posing as a positive ad against the Liberals’ negativity, it is Rudd’s anti-politics attack on the Liberals’ campaigning which stands out the most.
Ad watch – Crackers on the ads blitz
Sunday, 30 September 2007 Tactics Comments Off
The fact that Howard needed to spend so much selling what has been an exceptionally limited programme more highlights the weak consensus the government has had over its eleven years that would emerge in its regular mid-term polling slumps. The increasing use of such advertising by both Liberal and Labor governments over recent years indicates that governments are less coming to power with a mandate than needing to create one when in office.
Ad watch – Queensland: Nuclear the next
Thursday, 20 September 2007 Tactics Comments Off
Julia Gillard warned last weekend of the ‘mother of all scare campaigns’ from the government in the coming election. This is a sensible tactic as it turns whatever the government says into a political ploy. But the government already has difficulty in creating a scare campaign in the first place.
