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Voters likely to reward passion, not silly slogans

By Neil Lawrence - posted Thursday, 22 July 2010


It's been suggested that "moving forward" is really code for moving away from past Kevin Rudd-associated polices that have been determined to be electoral liabilities. It's a tempting proposition, but probably wrong.

It's taken Labor only two days to launch its first negative ad, focusing on Abbott's record as health minister. It concludes with: "Don't go backwards". We will hear more of this line, particularly in relation to WorkChoices.

"Moving forward" then makes sense only in relation to the negative campaign - "don't go backwards" - that will be run against Abbott.

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What it doesn't mean is the laying out of grand visions for Australia's future. I don't think we'll see the start of any new revolutions, be they educational, building, environmental or any other.

The Liberal Party line is less obvious, or perhaps just more confusing: "Stand up for Australia, stand up for real action".

The "real action" component seems to be a hangover from when they thought their campaign would be fought against Kevin Rudd. There was a growing narrative that Rudd was full of grand plans but lacked the ability or political courage to realise them. It was a line of attack that Abbott successfully prosecuted.

But Gillard has done a Morris Iemma. (Remember his 2007 election clunker: "More to do, but heading in the right direction"?) She has turned herself and the party into its own opposition and discarded electorally troubling policies. She has taken effective action and thus robbed the potency of that line of attack.

"Stand up for Australia"? Is it a subtle reference to border protection, an issue the Coalition believes is one of its strongest? Does it come from a belief that Australians want tougher decisions to be made? It's not clear, and so far neither is the Liberal campaign direction.

The main thing one can discern from the Liberals' opening ad is that they think being old-fashioned works to their advantage. The singing of "Stand up, stand up for real action" will be to some embarrassingly hokey. But perhaps to others it is just relaxed and comfortable, a reminder of more steady and predictable days.

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If O'Brien was begging for something more than vacuous slogans, so are most Australians.

So why has it come to this? Campaign discipline is fine and necessary, but it's not enough.

There is an assumption with the operatives in both parties that "the punter", itself a derogatory or at least disrespectful term, is disengaged from day-to-day politics, political initiatives and manoeuvrings.

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First published in The Australian on July 21, 2010.



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About the Author

Neil Lawrence is the founder of Lawrence Creative Strategy and executive creative director of STW. He was the creative mind behind the Kevin07 campaign, credited with helping Kevin Rudd win the 2007 federal election.

Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

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