The Harper government has called for bids from ad agencies willing to plan a campaign that could run for up to three years, with the purpose of strengthening “ongoing consumer confidence in the Canadian economy and the direction of the country.”
The posting, published May 3, does not mention how big a budget this campaign will get, but the government has already spent $100 million on “Action Plan” advertising since 2009. Interested agencies have until May 16 to submit their proposals.
Does anyone even know what the Economic Action Plan is anymore? It was supposed to be stimulus spending to help the economy get back on the right track following the 2008 global financial crisis, but it seems like the only part of the Economic Action Plan the government really wants to focus on is the advertising about the Economic Action Plan.
Some of the ads, available on YouTube, just make vague claims about how “Canada’s Economic Action Plan is working for you.” So, there’s that.
Many have called the ads “propaganda” and the Finance Department’s own polling shows the public is getting sick and tired of them.
It also bears noting that if the contract gets extended until 2016, the latest round of TV, radio, print and internet ads will coincide with the next federal election, scheduled for October 2015. The Canada Elections Act prohibits elections-related advertising by the government that is seen to promote specific parties or candidates, and while the Action Plan doesn’t promote the Conservative Party per se, it’s rather difficult to disassociate the Tories from the ubiquitous blue billboards.
Regardless, the Harper Conservatives love themselves some branding opportunities. Maybe that’s why they’re taking a new look at the way Canadian history is taught in schools. Time to add a few more “strong stable majority” sentences to the textbooks, right?
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Ishmael N. Daro
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