Wednesday, May 20, 2009

A Perfect Tone



I like that Ignatieff directly confronts his time abroad, and frames it as "proud of what I've achieved". If people really want to disect Ignatieff's time abroad, they will see a pedigree that's impressive by any measure. Canadians are very insecure when it comes to being noticed on the world stage, that one of our own achieved such stature and respect, hardly a negative. There is also a partisan tone, turning the attack around as an affront to all immigrant Canadians, or anyone who has worked abroad.

I also like this theme of a "new kind of politics", as cheesy as it may seem, people actually crave something different. If the Liberals can turn these ads around as examples of old, stale partisanship, while Ignatieff takes the high road and projects something different, it's a winning narrative.

10 comments:

foottothefire said...

Won by acclimation, me thinks.
Michael does a good job of rising above titmouse politics.
'Wonder how those small 'c' cons feel about their contributions to Harper being wasted on tripe?

Steve V said...

"Wonder how those small 'c' cons feel about their contributions to Harper being wasted on tripe?"

Not to mention our coffers growing as a result ;)

Gene Rayburn said...

Well NoneoftheAbove if you're going to have a master of dirty tricks it's better to have a competent one than mssrs Sparrow, Flanigan, Finley, Giorno and Teneycke. Now there's a ship of fools

Steve V said...

Gene

Let's just ignore it, like the real world does everyday ;)

Oxford County Liberals said...

Let me guess.. the deleted comment was moaning about Warren Kinsella.

I can almost guess who that was; there's a commenter at Macleans all time who moans about the exact same thing. in the exact same tone.

Steve V said...

It's actually fun watching 24.207.7.# try again and again :)

CuzBen said...

Perfect response. Totally refreshing.

Is it going out on TV or just internet?

Steve V said...

Hey Ben

I have no idea, but it doesn't have the feel of a network ad.

Steve V said...

We're starting to get a good sense of what our counter strategy will be:

Here.

Steve V said...

If there was any doubt about the strategic intent:

"Unlike the pricey, televised Tory ads that began running last week, Ignatieff's simple, low-cost video was posted on the party's website and sent to multicultural media outlets. The Liberal party is not paying to air the video. Ignatieff spokeswoman Jill Fairbrother said the party is specifically targeting multicultural media because ``we have heard that the attack ads are offensive, particularly to some of Canada's multicultural communities, so we wanted to send a message directly from the leader.'' The Conservatives have worked hard to woo new Canadian voters, who have traditionally tended to gravitate more toward the Liberals. Tories have claimed success among some groups, particularly Jewish and Chinese Canadians. Liberals are hoping the attack ads will help them reclaim some of that lost support."

Conservatives would laud the chess wizardry...