Are You Thinking????
Am I the only one who's thoroughly engraged by that "Are you thinking what we're thinking?"campaign that the Tories are running on billboards at the moment?
The ones in particular that annoy me are:
"I mean; How hard can it be to keep a hospital clean?", which is not only insulting to all the people who work damn hard throughout hospitals, but tonally is offensive too. That "I mean" just strikes the kind of condescending snootiness that confirms everything you ever thought about the Tory party.
"How would you feel if a bloke on early release attacked your daughter?". Where to begin? First off, as every statistic in the world will happily confirm, violence (to the point of murder) is far more likely to happen inside a family than from outside - so where are the messages about "How would your daughter feel if you beat her up?" (Note that there's news today that girls are more likely to accept boyfriends assaulting them if they've experienced violence at home BBC). On top of which, who exactly do they think they're fooling with the tone again? I doubt Michael Howard has ever ebven thought the word 'bloke', let alone used it in everyday conversation. It's so obviously phoney I can't believe they thought they'd get away with it.
And worst of all: "It's not racist to impose controls on immigration." No, it absolutely isn't, in principle, but in practice the specific control imposed could be deeply racist. Also, that statement is a get out of jail free card for anyone whose reasons for wanting immigration controls actually are racist. They can hide behind it as much as they want, and the Tories have just handed it to them on a plate.
March 21st, 2005 - 15:31
the same people who attacked a pediatrician because they thought they were a pedophile?
and maybe it’s the same people that labour are hoping to fool by accusing the tories of 35 million gbp worth of cuts when they are actually planning no such thing.
It’s all about manipulation rather than actual discussion of the issues we face. But then as a wooly liberal, I can be expected to say things like that
March 21st, 2005 - 15:59
Ooh, they really annoy me too for exactly the reasons you’ve already outlined. But viewed dispassionately, I think they’re very clever, brilliant even. They’re the sorts of statements that can only be answered by a “Yes, but…”.
To paraphrase Orwell: “And when the electorate looked from Labour to Tory and from Tory to Labour, they could not tell the difference between them, they could not say which was which.”
Odious, the lot of ‘em.
March 21st, 2005 - 16:54
I’m not sure they’re that clever. The hospital one for instance is really easy to answer with something other than “Yes, but”. I give you:
“I mean; How hard can it be to keep a hospital clean?”
“Probably very hard actually – they’re full of people bleeding and vomiting and oozing all over the place, and they’ve all got diseases and bacteria and things, so that’ll make it even harder.”
I agree that there’s nothing to pick between the buggers though.
March 21st, 2005 - 17:51
I’m not sure that’s the response — after all, many other countries don’t seem to have the same problem, do they? Anyone can follow the basic principles of hygene, after all.
And so on; It’s like a Bird and Fortune sketch, played out for real.
There’s lots of stuff swooshing around my head about this but I can’t seem to get the words down in a satisfactory order right now…
Needless to say though: I HATE THEM ALL!
March 21st, 2005 - 19:01
No, you’re not alone. Unfortunately it’s not available online (as far as I can tell), but Michael Bywater had a great comment about this in the Independent on Sunday on the 13th of March. I hardly ever cut anything out of newspapers, but that one I did and kept.
He completely rips apart this ad and takes it down to what it is: A salesman’s patter.
March 22nd, 2005 - 12:24
but then isn’t that the level that politics is at today, it’s all about the salesman’s patter ?
March 22nd, 2005 - 15:41
There’s some amusing graffiti on the posters round my way. If I’m out with my camera I’ll take a picture and send it to you (I can’t remember what the responses were right now).
And yes, I hate them. Condescending bollocks. Exactly what we should all expect from the Tories.
March 22nd, 2005 - 17:34
You’re so right about the word “bloke”. I hadn’t quite picked apart why that specific ad made my jaw hit the floor. It really is the idea of Michael Howard saying it!
Is there a link between “how hard it can be to keep a hospital clean” and the fact that since the Thatcher government NHS hospitals have been required to contract out their cleaning services to independent contractors? Not sure. But when “basic principles of hygiene” mean all staff, family and visitors wearing aprons, using alcohol wipes and washing their hands up to the elbow when they’ve been to see a patient with MRSA, I’m not sure that it’s quite as easy as people are making out.
March 23rd, 2005 - 11:49
It’s all because one of Michael Howards first steps toward “revitalising” the Tory Party was to appoint Maurice Saatchi as “co chairman” (i.e. chief executive).
One of his beliefs is that “the history of the world is built on Slogans”.
Everything that I see in the Torys campaign reminds me exactly of why I became so active in the Labour Party in the 80′s.
I let my membership lapse some years ago,
(after the 97 election, when I felt I’d done my bit, but hated Blair), but I really am seriously thinking of rejoining, if I can find the energy.
Its a resurgence of that Daily Mail world of Lies and Divisiveness, and spreading fear of minority groups.
I’ve been so angry about the tales of Travellers, v.good front page on Todays Independent, Vigilante murder of a supposed Paedophile who turned out to be innocent, I really fear that there is going to be something similar happen to a group of travellers, and I can just see Howards smarmy face as he bullshits his way out of it, no doubt scripted by Lord S.
March 23rd, 2005 - 13:29
heh, maybe if the history of the world is built on slogans, maybe we should google-bomb each one that comes up, pointing to a site that will explain the bullshit behind it?
March 23rd, 2005 - 14:09
Mmmm..
Here may be a good place to start.
http://www.conservatives.com/pdf/ibelieve-fairplay.pdf
“I believe in Fair Play”.
s’cuse me while I step outside to be sick.
March 23rd, 2005 - 22:27
I love the way so many people completely miss the point of these ads.
As informed and erudite that you are: You Are Not Their Target Audience.
Please feel free to continue sending your letters of complaint to the Independent whereupon they will be given every bit as much attention as they deserve.
Even *if* they are published.
March 24th, 2005 - 08:59
Er, I think the amusing thing is that I probably am precisely the target audience.
Lewisham East has swung over the years, and hence, has been targetted with the poster campaign, Colin Moynihan was our MP for many years.
Plus one of the latests incarnations of the Demographic Target voter are “Pebble Dash People”, whom the Torys describe as being Middle Income living in 3 bedroom semi detached pebble dashed houses..er..which is me.
I’m disillusioned with Labour, not at all fond of Tony Blair, Middle Class, Middle aged.
What more do they want.
If they hadn’t made the mistake of assuming that I am also an ill educated, uncompassionate Bigot, then I may well have been tempted to vote for them.
March 24th, 2005 - 11:19
surely as someone with the right to vote i’m in the target audience ?
March 31st, 2005 - 16:00
Am I being thick here? I thought this campaign used quotes from Labour propaganda, and hence “are you thinking what we’re thinking?” refers to the fact that the Tories are the alternative to the garbage lines that other parties trot out.
Otherwise, the slogan, being the counterpoint to the quotes, makes no sense.
April 4th, 2005 - 12:54
There’s an interesting double page spread in todays Media section of the Indy, in which Barry Delaney does a rundown of some of the succesful (and not so) campaigns of the last few years.
He finishes with the “are you thinking” campaign, and suggests that its an attempt to bring back into the fold those who may have defected to BNP, UKIP..
he doesn’t mention Veritas.
and speaking of which.
on a lighter note.
http://eclectech.co.uk/kilroysilk.php
and
http://eclectech.co.uk/veritasparty.php
are both making me smile on a grey day.