VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Like it or not the attack ads are coming. You’re probably going to hear a lot about Justin Trudeau’s hair or Stephen Harper’s economic record.
With an extended campaign we’re going to see a lot of these ads according to Michael Davis with the marketing group Reputation.
And the conservatives who have more money than the other parties will be leading the way.
He warns there is a fine line that these ads need to tread.
“The most famous example of an attack ad missing the mark in Canada is the Conservative ad against Jean Chretien An attack ad runs the risk of jumping into the absurd and just repelling people,” says Davis. “If they get personal, or they’re perceived to be personal, as opposed to related to any sort of policy, some people find them to be offensive and yet historically attack ads have been quite effective.”
Davis says there have been recent examples of what these ads can do. “You think back to Stephan Dion or Michael Ignatieff you know the attack ads that the Conservatives did, did a very good job of defining them before they were even out campaigning.”