More after the break. Thank you for your contributions.
Paul Campbell wrote of the billboards that they evoked a sense of the haiku form. Feel free to compose your own.
At five, plus seven, plus five, syllables, you are obliged to be concise, but in the political context of one-page policy statements, that really seems about right, don't you think?
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Now we've got John Key
We don't know what he stands for
He's got a nice smile
An affront
to puppets everywhere
to merely call him wooden
(With apologies to Rolling Stone magazine
Who, me? Policy?
Did I mention tax cuts yet?
Forget the Nineties.
Look at my background.
Said John, the man from Merrill’s
We shall sell. Trust me.
I just had a look at the original billboard. It reads "Say goodbye to higher taxes. Not your loved ones." That's two full-stops; two separate sentences that may not actually be related.
In fact, the second sentence "Not your loved ones" sounds like the wail of someone seeing their baby kidnapped by a pirate. "Not my baaaaby!!!!!"
It also literally sounds like "Knot your loved ones", but I don't want to think about tying up my gran.
I'm personally quite relieved that these are, actually, hopeless compared with what Ansell did last time. When I first saw them, the only branding that came to mind was, "TVNZOnDemand!!". Which probably isn't quite what National is looking for.
That's two full-stops; two separate sentences that may not actually be related.
And they're not.
I accept that the current levels of emmigration are worth worrying about but I'm just not convinced that they're entirely a factor of a single issue; personal tax rates. I'm having a discussion (of sorts) about this point at kiwiblog, including with Ansell, and frankly it's ridiculous that Key would promise to reduce emmigration simply by reducing personal taxes. It's almost enough to make me want him to be PM so that we can hold him to the promise!
A new billboard out today apparently:
Get youth into training, not into trouble
Hardly pithy. News of its release was elicited from Key by his good friend Paul Henry (who should probably register as a third party) on Breakfast tv this morning. Watch how easily Key rolls when pressed to reveal the "line". Strong leadership? Bite me.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/news_minisite_index_skin/news_breakfast_group /breakfast
Get youth into training, not into trouble
I can't view this link but if it's true, it's galling. The lies just don't stop!
Transitions and pathways into training and employment from school have been hugely improved by Labour compared with National. A series of initiatives were spectacularly successful, not least of all Modern Apprenticeships which surprised officials, providers and Industry Training Organisations alike with it's success and exceeded all the targets (and was almost entirely the idea of the Minister, Maharey). Similarly, funding and support for industry training has ballooned (quadrupled funding if not more) under Labour having stagnated under National.
I understand why, but National erred by letting English go from Education, he understood it well and was looking like he'd have a suite of alternative policies to offer.
Ansell might have gone from National's team, but his preference for sloganeering in preference to policy remains.
Paul - I totally agree. At the Welly Film Archive, I recently noticed a video clip of David Lange raising similar issues in the 1978 election. And I quote from a recent article by Chris Trotter:
How do you propose to silence our political consciences; close the wage-gap; cancel student debt; mend those broken hearts; curb our wanderlust; and end New Zealand's geographical isolation?
By cutting personal income tax? Give me a break! You could abolish income tax altogether and we'd still be paid less than the Aussies.
What's that? You're going to make the bosses pay their workers more?
Yeah, right.
I suspect what ties the above factors together is what Germaine Greer describes as suburban mediocrity.
Try this one. You'll need to scroll down to their "latest video" listings.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/news_minisite_index_skin/news_breakfast_group
I missed this piece by Trotter, I can't say I'm actively looking for his commentary at the moment however I agree with these statements.
I agree with Greer's summary of the Ramsey St ambition, though it's probably been updated since to be Fountain-Gate a la Kath and Kim. Interestingly, several commenters at kiwiblog responded to my questions about how Key'd do these things by saying he should bother providing the detail 'cause he doesn't need to - Ansell included! Their supporters clearly don't want to know, or worse; already know, but would rather we didn't.
Try this one. You'll need to scroll down to their "latest video" listings.
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/news_minisite_index_skin/news_breakfast_group
Thanks - news of a policy! Good gracious. A promise to wave fees for, I think he said, 16 and 17 year olds in teriary study. It's a start I guess. Modest and largely replicates existing arrangements, but at least it's something that can be measured and assessed.
The rapport between Henry and Key is charming though innit? Henry's politics are well known so I guess no one expects him to be anything other than a sycophant.
I'm personally quite relieved that these are, actually, hopeless compared with what Ansell did last time
John Ansell's not doing these. Does anybody know who is? I'm curious.
This is classic Crosby-Textor - just compare them to the 2005 UK Conservative party billboards (defaced version here). Exploit and whip up fear, provide no answers.
Crime/parole will be next, then racism.
Did no one else notice the dog-whistle about family safety in that second line?
Did no one else notice the dog-whistle about family safety in that second line?
Plus it's written in a graffiti scrawl. Apparently.
It also literally sounds like "Knot your loved ones"
Kinky.
"Knot your loved ones"
Well that oughta keep em safe..
The Nats even have tidy "graffiti scrawl", it would appear.
Blue is an Ambitious colour, which
when mixed with yellow
gives you Green.
Explain?
That would be losing
Look at the pretty pictures
Okay, I'll stop now. But this surely has to be one of the more cryptic "political sloganeering" campaigns in a while.
I'm not quite sure how they've managed to mix Crosby-Textor dog-whistling with Labour's quite baffling 05 "pitches," but they've done it. Does anyone remember their poster which had the baby, the string and the scissors? That was seriously weird. I think the "string" had various policies on it, or something.
I've already forseen this election campaign to be one of the messiest in quite some time, but I think the vagueness might become an art in itself.
Btw, how do you edit the original layout of them?
See the planes
Shiny cars enjoy roads
Rail gone by lunch time
Programs like Photoshop can import graphic components from PDF files. I presume from earlier comments that the billboard background is separate from its words.
I'm not quite sure how they've managed to mix Crosby-Textor dog-whistling with Labour's quite baffling 05 "pitches," but they've done it. Does anyone remember their poster which had the baby, the string and the scissors? That was seriously weird. I think the "string" had various policies on it, or something.
That was my immediate reaction: it's as bad as Labour's ghastly 05 baby-on-a-string campaign.
Okay, that might be harsh.