The Young Liberal Ads

Who's Doing What? · June 2, 2007

You weren't ever gonna vote liberal anyway.

I actually really wanted to, then you elected Dion and haven't produced a single reasonable policy since.

I am the exact market of people that the Liberals need to win over to gain a majority. I'm not a social conservative (in fact, I don't even consider social policy), I'm an urban 20-something that could be categorised as a yuppie type, anti-war and pro-humanitarian and I'm completely politically independant and pragmatic, I have no loyalty to any party.

If you can't win over my vote, your not going to win an election.

I won't be supporting the CPC either by the way. I'll likely spoil my ballot or vote for something ridiculous rather than support either Harper's massive government ideals or Dion's joke that they call a political party.

You can't even vote Green in protest now that they are in bed with the Libs.

Seriously Geoffrey we need to start a new political party.

jdobbin · June 2, 2007

Cute, yes. Winning votes? Nahhh. Didn't win mine.

I mentioned elsewhere that they are pretty dumb. However, they have achieved their goal with limited spending involved. And that goal was to counter the Tory ads.

stignasty · June 2, 2007

The term "circle jerk" is sometimes used as a metaphor. It refers to a situation, often in the workplace, politics, online or academia, where people are stroking each other's ego without producing anything of value.

Have the three of you satisfied yourself with this thread???

That's hilarious coming from someone who posted 15 times in the thread about Stephané Dion's hot dog. :lol:

Argus · June 2, 2007

http://hi.im.a.liberal.ca/video.aspx?ad=carbonbudget
My favourite was the cross-dressing one.

Saw this one being discussed on the CBC. It's pretty typical of the message the Liberals are trying to put out about the environment - namely, that "all we have to do is reduce carbon emissions; follow Kyoto".

No mention of how, no mention of costs, no mention of penalties or drawbacks. It's so easy! You CAN have your cake and eat it too!

Plan? We have no plan! You just need to "reduce carbon emissions", and "follow Kyoto"! It's like pressing the Staples Easy Button!

It also, of course, is even more dishonest in implying (based, no doubt on Al Gore's notoriously dishonest "movie" that sea levels will rise 20 feet. In reality, scientists think they might rise a few inches.

Why don't I like Liberals? Well, because they're liars. There's nothing the Liberal Party won't lie about. I don't think there's anything the Liberal Party ISN'T lying about.

At least when the Tory ads portray Dion as an ineffective, arrogant, bumbling fop they're being honest.

jdobbin · June 2, 2007

Why don't I like Liberals? Well, because they're liars. There's nothing the Liberal Party won't lie about. I don't think there's anything the Liberal Party ISN'T lying about.

I think the Liberals pointed out pretty clearly that the Tories want to become just like the Liberals. Hell, they even have a former Young Liberal running the party. Doesn't that just make some in the right wing insane?

Michael Bluth · June 2, 2007

Saw this one being discussed on the CBC. It's pretty typical of the message the Liberals are trying to put out about the environment - namely, that "all we have to do is reduce carbon emissions; follow Kyoto".
No mention of how, no mention of costs, no mention of penalties or drawbacks. It's so easy! You CAN have your cake and eat it too!

Plan? We have no plan! You just need to "reduce carbon emissions", and "follow Kyoto"! It's like pressing the Staples Easy Button!

At least when the Tory ads portray Dion as an ineffective, arrogant, bumbling fop they're being honest.

Well said on both counts.

The sad thing about those ads is they could have been very effective.

The concept was good, but the scripting was terrible.

Yay, the centre-right in Canada went through some change in Canada in the last 15 years. Woo hoo hoo.

They were preaching to the converted. Successful at that I guess.

kimmy · June 2, 2007

The idea was clever, and the ads are somewhat amusing, but the message in the ads is rather dumb, and in the end they don't do much beyond ribbing their adversaries.

As others have pointed out, the content of the ads is pretty poor, particularly the global warming one. I don't think that anybody in the Young Liberals or on this site actually believes that there's an "all we have to do is..." solution to climate change. So having their "avatar" in the ad say "all we have to do is..." comes off as slightly less than believable.

The "Hi, I'm a Mac" "and I'm a PC" ads are among the most popular and effective advertising I have ever seen. It's "hip" and clever for the Young Liberals to reference them in their own advertising. However, I think they've missed some of the reasons that make the "I'm a Mac" "and I'm a PC" campaign so successful.

First, the "Mac" and "PC" characters are very likable. A challenge in making an ad like this where one character has all the answers and the other character hasn't got a clue is that the character with all the answers tends to come off as smug and arrogant. Apple has dodged this pitfall by making Mac casual and friendly and somewhat modest. He's always concerned about PC, especially when PC appears to be in some kind of distress. And PC, although pompous and rather clueless, isn't actually a bad guy. He is just "square", and it's his misguided attempts to keep up with the times that form the animus behind most of the commercials. But whatever crazy thing PC does next, Mac is always there. They even give each other Christmas presents. The camaraderie of Mac and PC is one of the things that keeps people watching the commercials.

Liberal? She's a smug little snot. Conservative? He's an annoying retard. I would not cross the street to meet either of these people, unless it was to administer a punch in the solar plexus.

The second aspect of the Mac and PC commercials that makes them so successful is that PC's ongoing struggles and foibles in keeping up with the world are something that PC users will recognize from their own experience. Most PC users don't struggle with this stuff to the degree that PC does in the commercials, but pretty much all of us can relate to the ads. Just about every PC user has found themselves wishing they didn't have to run all that security software, or have to contend with the way Microsoft sells its products, or that you could plug in an upgrade and it would just work and not have to mess with device drivers and system settings and all that kind of stuff. The Mac and PC commercials highlight some annoying aspect of using a PC that PC users will recognize and relate to, and presents Mac as a hassle-free alternative.

The Young Liberal ads, on the other hand... the "cross dressing" and "branding" ads present aspects of the Conservatives that apparently bother Liberals, not something that will resonate with Conservative supporters. The global warming ad offers a criticism of Conservative policy that Conservative supporters won't believe, and offers a Liberal solution that even Liberals won't believe.

-k

BC_chick · June 2, 2007

I am the exact market of people that the Liberals need to win over to gain a majority. I'm not a social conservative (in fact, I don't even consider social policy), I'm an urban 20-something that could be categorised as a yuppie type, anti-war and pro-humanitarian and I'm completely politically independant and pragmatic, I have no loyalty to any party.
If you can't win over my vote, your not going to win an election.

I won't be supporting the CPC either by the way. I'll likely spoil my ballot or vote for something ridiculous rather than support either Harper's massive government ideals or Dion's joke that they call a political party.

Majority? Okay maybe not.

But Geoffrey, are a self-admitted yuppy who works in the oil industry, you're not exactly the kind of vote the LPC is after. They know it's a lost cause.

I witnessed your disillusion with the CPC which was prompted after the budget, otherwise you were quite satisfied with them if I remember correctly.

IMHO you may be persuaded to vote without a party line, but you are more conservative than you may realise in your personal views, even if you're somewhat dissatisfied with the way THIS conservative government is behaving.

People who worry about the future of their kids more than temporary economic set-backs, those with a strong inclination toward social justice, those who want to take bring Canadian politics out of gutter once again, those are the people the Liberals are trying to win back.

Don't get me wrong btw on my perception of your brand of conservatism, if all conservatives were like you the world would be a much happier place.

Michael Bluth · June 2, 2007

Liberal? She's a smug little snot. Conservative? He's an annoying retard. I would not cross the street to meet either of these people, unless it was to administer a punch in the solar plexus.
The Young Liberal ads, on the other hand... the "cross dressing" and "branding" ads present aspects of the Conservatives that apparently bother Liberals, not something that will resonate with Conservative supporters. The global warming ad offers a criticism of Conservative policy that Conservative supporters won't believe, and offers a Liberal solution that even Liberals won't believe.

-k

But smugness appears to be a requirement of the YLC. Isn't it?

Would you really punch a retard?

Yeah, the global warming file is a joke. The Liberals did nothing on the file, and are trying to act like they own it.

jdobbin · June 2, 2007

The idea was clever, and the ads are somewhat amusing, but the message in the ads is rather dumb, and in the end they don't do much beyond ribbing their adversaries.

For less than $2000, they are probably doing the job. No one is talking about the Tory ads.

geoffrey · June 2, 2007

Majority? Okay maybe not.
But Geoffrey, are a self-admitted yuppy who works in the oil industry, you're not exactly the kind of vote the LPC is after. They know it's a lost cause.

If I'm not the kind of voter the LPC is after, they will never win an election. The socially liberal, fiscal conservatives is what Chretien won on (through Martin's fiscal policy). Currently, these people have no where to go... offer them a home.

The type that isn't really into social activism, but isn't quoting the Bible when deciding their views on the world.

I don't work in the oil industry either, not everyone in Calgary is in oil and gas.

I witnessed your disillusion with the CPC which was prompted after the budget, otherwise you were quite satisfied with them if I remember correctly.

I'd say your probably not remembering correctly. I don't know much I've been happy about with Harper's government over the last year and a bit.

IMHO you may be persuaded to vote without a party line, but you are more conservative than you may realise in your personal views, even if you're somewhat dissatisfied with the way THIS conservative government is behaving.

Fair, but these are the swing voters in Canada IMO. I will vote either way, CPC or Liberal depending on what they put on the table. I'm likely as left as it gets socially in the CPC, fiscally well my views don't fit any party in Canada. I'm the closest thing to a liberal you'll find on the conservative side of things.

Business has always voted Liberal... why can't I?? Why is Dion actively trying to prevent business from supporting the party?

And yes, you need to win my vote to win a majority.

The Liberals seem to be targetting their own with the marketing, stopping a bleed if anything. Dion was elected to appease the left... these commericals make fun of the people they need to win over...

It's just not a very logical way of going about winning an election.

People who worry about the future of their kids more than temporary economic set-backs, those with a strong inclination toward social justice, those who want to take bring Canadian politics out of gutter once again, those are the people the Liberals are trying to win back.

The Liberals need to win votes from the CPC, not the NDP. You already have all those people and if you don't, they aren't leaving the socialist left.

Don't get me wrong btw on my perception of your brand of conservatism, if all conservatives were like you the world would be a much happier place.

A good, bad person?

Michael Bluth · June 2, 2007

The Liberals need to win votes from the CPC, not the NDP. You already have all those people and if you don't, they aren't leaving the socialist left.

That's the key to the next election.

The Liberals don't really have anywhere to go policy wise.

The Greens and NDP are pushing them from the left.

This election, as in all others, they will have to "campaign from the left".

But something tells me Layton and May will be going after Dion hardcore.

The NDP campaign will be some phase II based on the phase I of "lend us your vote".

"Thanks for lending us your vote last time. Have we earned it this time?"

Argus · June 3, 2007

People who worry about the future of their kids more than temporary economic set-backs,

Hmm, like the forward-thinking Liberal economic policies... ? Which ones exactly?

those with a strong inclination toward social justice,

What, exactly, does social justice mean? It seems to mean, for many on the Left, everyone should be middle class, whether they worked for it or not. And the way to do this is to take money away from those who studied and worked hard, and give it to people who did neither.

those who want to take bring Canadian politics out of gutter once again, those are the people the Liberals are trying to win back.

What delusion is this? The Liberals led the march to the gutter years ago, smearing and lying about their opponents and their policies, freely making promises they never had any intention of keeping, spending billions and billions to buy their way into power, and then more billions to stay there. Where exactly does anyone get the chutzpa to suggest the Liberals want to to take politics "out of the gutter" when they put it there in the first place?

jdobbin · June 3, 2007

Where exactly does anyone get the chutzpa to suggest the Liberals want to to take politics "out of the gutter" when they put it there in the first place?

And where the Tories now think is a good place to be now that they're in power.

BC_chick · June 3, 2007

If I'm not the kind of voter the LPC is after, they will never win an election. The socially liberal, fiscal conservatives is what Chretien won on (through Martin's fiscal policy). Currently, these people have no where to go... offer them a home.

As I said earlier, maybe they won't win a majority, but to say they'll never "win" is really far-fetched. The polls have been more or less statistically tied since the election and neither party seems to be able to pull in to majority territory. That's no big shocker, every political analyst predicted this after the PC/Alliance merger. We're heading into a bipartisan system, time to choose your version of the lesser evil.

I don't work in the oil industry either, not everyone in Calgary is in oil and gas.

I didn't mean to stereotype, I thought I remembered you one time mentioning that you work in the oil industry. My mistake.

Fair, but these are the swing voters in Canada IMO. I will vote either way, CPC or Liberal depending on what they put on the table. I'm likely as left as it gets socially in the CPC, fiscally well my views don't fit any party in Canada. I'm the closest thing to a liberal you'll find on the conservative side of things.
Business has always voted Liberal... why can't I?? Why is Dion actively trying to prevent business from supporting the party?

"Preventing" is a tad harsh though I would agree that he shouldn't alienate the business sector by focusing so much on other issues. Maybe they're his true convictions or maybe it's the fact that Liberal Party knows that Harper has that vote already so it's political strategy. Give him time, he's been pushed so far to the defensive he hasn't really had any time to put forth any of his initiatives really.

And yes, you need to win my vote to win a majority.

Sure, as Steve needs it as well. As I said earlier, majority governments are a thing of the past..... for a while at least.

The Liberals seem to be targetting their own with the marketing, stopping a bleed if anything. Dion was elected to appease the left... these commericals make fun of the people they need to win over...
The Liberals need to win votes from the CPC, not the NDP. You already have all those people and if you don't, they aren't leaving the socialist left.

Agreed. It seems though they have decided to focus on the youth which may turn out to not be a bad strategy actually.

A good, bad person?

LOL, nah, not at all. I meant you're a true conservative, one who doesn't drape himself in a sea of hypocrisy and believe that rabid racism and a belligerence are what makes a person a conservative. You're a rare breed.

Though I don't agree with many of the basic principals of conservatism, I can see the appeal of the ideology.

Michael Bluth · June 3, 2007

LOL, nah, not at all. I meant you're a true conservative, one who doesn't drape himself in a sea of hypocrisy and believe that rabid racism and a belligerence are what makes a person a conservative. You're a rare breed.
Though I don't agree with many of the basic principals of conservatism, I can see the appeal of the ideology.

Please explain what a "sea of hypocrisy" is?

Racism? Say what you will about my defence of Steven Harper, but you cannot find any posts with me defending racism or advocating it.

BC_chick · June 3, 2007

Please explain what a "sea of hypocrisy" is?
Racism? Say what you will about my defence of Steven Harper, but you cannot find any posts with me defending racism or advocating it.

Sea of hypocrisy was the unaccountable accountable government which we were promised.

As for the second part- don't worry, though some of the other adjectives I used may be applied to you, racist wasn't one of them. I'm aware that you're not a racist.

Not every conservative is a racist, but every racist is a conservative.

For that, you'll never get me on your team. I would never, could never, take part in a political party who is supported by every bigot in the country.

runningdog · June 3, 2007

Please explain what a "sea of hypocrisy" is?

Racism? Say what you will about my defence of Steven Harper, but you cannot find any posts with me defending racism or advocating it.

Sea of hypocrisy was the unaccountable accountable government which we were promised.

As for the second part- don't worry, though some of the other adjectives I used may be applied to you, racist wasn't one of them. I'm aware that you're not a racist.

Not every conservative is a racist, but every racist is a conservative.

For that, you'll never get me on your team. I would never, could never, take part in a political party who is supported by every bigot in the country.

every racist is a conservative? Sort of using a really wide brush, no?

Michael Bluth · June 3, 2007

every racist is a conservative? Sort of using a really wide brush, no?

Exactly.

Makes the very big and very false assumptin that every racist in the country is white.

BC_chick · June 3, 2007

Not every conservative is a racist, but every racist is a conservative.

For that, you'll never get me on your team. I would never, could never, take part in a political party who is supported by every bigot in the country.

every racist is a conservative? Sort of using a really wide brush, no?

If I say "nine out of ten" instead of "every" would you agree with me?

BC_chick · June 3, 2007

Makes the very big and very false assumptin that every racist in the country is white.

Well, as far as I know, there's no black, yellow or brown glass ceiling in this country yet..... so for now, I'll worry about the white.

BC_chick · June 3, 2007

The Young Liberal ads, on the other hand... the "cross dressing" and "branding" ads present aspects of the Conservatives that apparently bother Liberals, not something that will resonate with Conservative supporters. The global warming ad offers a criticism of Conservative policy that Conservative supporters won't believe, and offers a Liberal solution that even Liberals won't believe.

You raise some good points kimmy, but I don't think the ads are directed at conservatives in the same manner as Mac is targeting PC users.

In fact, neither CPC nor LPC are targeting each other's base for support, rather, the swing voters.

Except that the Liberals are addressing policies of the CPC whereas the CPC are addressing the leader of the party - the person.

Topaz · June 3, 2007

I just came across one on the web. Apparently, men's clothier Harry Rosen sent out post card size advertisment for this store. It has Harper asking Dion if he got the postcard about the sale going on at Harry Rosen's store. Dion replies no, but you sent to me by accident!!! The Cons aren't taking this lightly to the pont of saying they would never buy clothes there!! I guess the saying what goes around comes around!!

Michael Bluth · June 3, 2007

Well, as far as I know, there's no black, yellow or brown glass ceiling in this country yet..... so for now, I'll worry about the white.

wtf is a white glass ceiling?

geoffrey · June 3, 2007

If I say "nine out of ten" instead of "every" would you agree with me?

You'll find racists at both extremes. It wasn't so long ago we saw the labour movement condemning Chinese and other immigrants for stealing all the white man's jobs.