Don’t worry, political ads still work
OAKVILLE, ONT.—A poll came out recently which, if taken at face value, would be bad news for all the good people in this country who write political advertisements for a living. The poll in question, conducted by Forum Research, asked Canadians if any of the political advertisements they’d seen over the past month had an […]
Political ads reaching Canadians, who say they have ‘no impact’: poll
Nearly two-thirds of Canadians said they had seen a political advertisement in the past month, suggests a new poll by Forum Research, but eight in 10 of them say the ads had little or no impact on their opinions. The poll by Forum Research used an interactive-voice response system to survey 1,733 Canadians across the […]
NDP hits pause on ads, Grits and Tories suspend TV campaigns as pre-election spending cap, summer doldrums kick in
The NDP says it has temporarily stopped running political ads on Facebook and elsewhere fewer than 100 days before the federal election, leading one conservative-tied digital strategist to suggest the party is in deep trouble, and a former NDP national director to predict the party is saving its ammunition for closer to the election. “The […]
Engage Canada won’t run more attack ads before election
Left-leaning political messaging group Engage Canada won’t be running any more ads attacking Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer before the upcoming election, say Unifor national president Jerry Dias and another source close to the organization. “Engage is finished,” said Mr. Dias in a phone interview with The Hill Times last week. Another source close to Engage […]
Federal government ad spending rises after PM’s department bumps up limit 45 per cent in election year
The federal government is expected to spend about 60 per cent more on advertising in 2018-19, the last fiscal year before an election, than the year before, thanks to an increase to the ad spending limit by the Privy Council Office. The Canada Revenue Agency is one of the departments to have taken advantage of […]
Conservative ad gives impression men are preferred candidates
Re: “‘Want to run for office?’: Conservatives using Facebook ads to recruit candidates,” (The Hill Times, April 1, p. 1). The image accompanying this article shows a Conservative Party ad with a woman, Conservative deputy leader Lisa Raitt, in between the party’s leader, Andrew Scheer, and white male silhouette. The negative impression given is that ideal […]
‘Want to run for office?’: Conservatives using Facebook ads to recruit candidates
The Conservative Party has taken an unusual step to bolster its slate of candidates for this October’s election: it’s running Facebook ads asking people to run for office. “Canada needs your help now, more than ever. Want to run for office? Help your country—become a Conservative candidate,” reads one of the ads the party has […]
‘Sign up’ and ‘chip in’: how the federal parties use Facebook ads to get your money
You have to spend money to make money, and the Liberal and Conservative parties of Canada have for years now used low-cost digital advertising to do that, and more. The two major federal parties have run ads constantly since the last election, matching the 24/7 modern news cycle with a ubiquitous advertising presence on the […]
Historica, Conservatives both come out okay in Heritage Minute dust-up
You could be forgiven if those old Heritage Minutes, seen most often on that dated medium of television, had slipped into the recesses of your mind. Not unlike the vintage National Film Board vignettes, my personal favourite being The Log Driver’s Waltz, these stories generate some warmth in a sentimental Canadian heart. Now, they are […]
Tories need to find a better use for their Twitter fingers
Who would have thought that trying to be a viral edgelord on the internet might have a few drawbacks when you want to be taken seriously? The Conservative Party of Canada is working to position itself as the alternative to a second Justin Trudeau-led Canadian government when voters go the polls in October. Someone should […]
