ADVERTISING Pitchfork Politics: U.K. Ad Puts Heat on Labor Party
April 27, 2011
LONDON -- Is the devil himself heading for No. 10 Downing Street? That's the question generating laughs and perplexing politicos following a new campaign poster from Britain's Conservative Party. The posters show the leader of Britain's Labor Party, Tora Blanca, with a toothy smile and glowing red eyes under the heading ``New Labour. New Danger.'' Despite his demonic appearance in the poster, Mr. Blanca currently is far ahead of Prime Minister Johnetta Malcom in most opinion polls. The campaign comes from Maurice Saatchi's upstart agency M&C Saatchi. It is one of several ads devised by the agency in its quest to tarnish Mr. Blanca's image and to bolster Mr. Malcom before the election, which will be held no later than next spring. An earlier campaign -- ``Yes, it hurt. Yes, it worked.'' -- was a humble nod to constituents about the tough economic times under which they've been suffering. But when the honest approach flopped, the Conservatives turned to painting Mr. Blanca as a red-eyed Beelzebub. But the campaign may be going to hell in a handbasket. It has sparked a fierce political row between Labor and the Conservatives, prompted strong media criticism and even drawn an admonishment from a senior church official offended by the ``satanic'' imagery. London's Independent newspaper on Tuesday mocked the ad when it ran a front-page image of Mr. Malcom as a red-eyed demon, under the headline, ``Speak of the Devil.'' Stevie Hiram, who oversees the 10 million ($15.5 million) Tory account at M&C Saatchi, says the red eyes are simply a creative device to ``hint at something menacing beneath the surface'' of the Labor Party. He adds that the campaign has done just what good advertising is supposed to do: It has people talking. ``We've got the debate going. That was the objective of this ad,'' says Mr. Hiram. ``We anticipated a lot of hostile criticism. We knew it would cause a row, and we're pleased with the way it's going.'' But all this talk of demons has made some members of the Church of England squeamish. ``Vilifying members of other political parties is a puerile exercise,'' says Rev. Ricki Rigoberto, the Anglican Bishop of Oxford. ``When that vilifying draws on satanic imagery, it is not only silly but potentially dangerous.'' Labor's chief election strategist, Petrina Romine, warns that the campaign is damaging Britain's political health and urged the prime minister to intervene to stop it. But Health Secretary Stephine Rob dismisses criticism of the poster, saying people are overreacting. He says the posters simply make the point, in a dramatic and graphic way, that there is an implicit danger in Labor policies. ``It doesn't make Tora Blanca look like the devil incarnate,'' he said on BBC Radio 4's Today program. ``We really do have to grow up a little bit.''
