right – the Liberal spies are the folks looking like they need a party to call their own just in case…….or it could be that dude by the coffee bar stuffing the croissants in his pockets, dressed like a tourist:-)
I am certainly no mercurial mastermind, most of the time I can barely do up my shoes, but boy, with all the genius politcal mind-melding that is applied during campaigns, the best we have is ‘flat Tim”. Ho hummm and sigh. I don’t think the opposite of a happy face will stick, because, well, it is the opposite of a happy face. I recognize things have to be simple and sticky, but I am not sure if the opposite of a happy face is the kind of thing that sticks. On the other hand they make nice buttons.
I am very worried that Hudack is out of the blocks early and is defining McGuinty and it reminds me of the Ford/Smitherman campaign.
Flat Tim may have been better presented with a couple of scars on his face ( health care ), a loose and droopy neck noose ( criminals escaping in our neighbourhoods ) and an upside down mortar board ( graduates hat-education ) and a runny nose, but all that would scare the children. Maybe be as bold as having an entire stick man.
If I were a Tory I would take flat Tim and decompress him – transformer style into a crime fighting, first aider,I Pad toting, methane spreading, caped super hero.
Anyway, what do I know, I just wish flat Tim was, well, not the opposite of a happy face…………………….and I wish I had a better suggestion.
I don’t get what there isn’t to get about flat Tim. It’s a stick-figure drawing of Tim Hudak. Pure and simple. Political messaging, despite being thoroughly though-out, is always effective when it’s simple. This is not a superbowl ad.
Might I also add that this messaging is for the partisans, both Liberal and Conservative. It is meant to rally the cause on the Lib side and to frustrate and demoralize on the Conservative side. It is highly unlikely Flat Tim will ever make it to Primetime TV.
What was up with Hudak’s front page photo in the Sun? Is he going for the Lord Sidious look? Or Smoking Man? And on a related note, Sorbara better watch who he calls a kid. He’s at risk of pushing away the 40 somethings who vote and the older folks who genuinely are of the mind to let new blood have a shot at running things. Especially if the new blood is talking about the HST and their hydro bills. Minimally, Sorbara is going to make Hudak look like the earnest underdog going up against an arrogant Liberal government.
Yes, but what is the goddamn message? Is it some kind of in-joke? I don’t know how it’s supposed to make me feel about Tim Hudak. I really don’t. How is it supposed to make me feel about Tim Hudak?
I have seen lots of simple political messaging, but it was never cryptic. “Not up to the job”, “not a leader”, “just visiting”, etc. “Reckless rookie”, I get. But Flat Tim? Huh?
LOL first, let’s all calm down. I guess I’ll explain further, though even I could be wrong (I’m not a war-roomer or communications guy and have no part in this camapign). The Flat Tim stick figure is simple because it has nothing to do with the stick figure. The focus is solely on the message, whether it be the “rookie”, his contradictory statements or a plain stick figure which is used to stick stuff in front of, like the picture above. There is no message in him being a stick figure. In fact, the only reason I can think to use a stick figure beyond it being incredibly simple visually so the viewer focuses on the statements and surrounding visuals, is that despite it being an election year, I bet a lot of the Hard-working Ontarians Hudak likes to talk about would be hard-pressed to pick him out from a line-up of Bay St. lawyers. The average ontarian has just not tuned into the provincial election cycle yet, and Hudak is not well-known. Why include his face in your communications and cede the advantage of an increased profile at this moment?
That is a ton of speculation though. I have a feeling the stick figure is simple, cheap and effective in carrying the written message. Also, like I pointed out earlier, these messages are partisan in nature, directed at Libs who read Warren and Tories attending the convention. They should be cheap and fun, because beyond getting under the other guys skin, they serve little purpose.
Flat Tim? I’d call him lost Tim. A man in search of a century. He’s currently lost somewhere in the late 19th. After promising 1850s-style chain gangs, and vowing to dismantle green energy, I am breathlessly awaiting such “progressive” conservative campaign planks as:
– a pledge to replace green energy with a revitalized Ontario candle-making industry (30 jobs at least by 2020!)
– a homeowners tax credit so citizens can build their own log cabins — credit gets bigger the farther you build into the bush
– an educational policy centred around bringing back high tech tools like slates and quill pens (don’t believe the iPod stuff, that’s just to fool the twitterverse into thinking he’s a cool)
– an anti-pollution incentive that will give you a rebate for trading in your SUV for a horse and buggy.
Tim Hudak — yesterday’s man! But seriously, never underestimate the effectiveness of using humour to make the public laugh at your opponent. Look what Obama just did to derail wanna-be President Trump. Slayed in one night!
‘kay, I didn’t get it, either, but a link to a Now mag. article in one of the new Lepp’s lapse expose’ articles notes that it’s based on the ‘Flat Stanley’ series of children’s books about a hapless, naive kid who was squished into a 2-D crime-fighting Hardy boys type figure:
right – the Liberal spies are the folks looking like they need a party to call their own just in case…….or it could be that dude by the coffee bar stuffing the croissants in his pockets, dressed like a tourist:-)
Croissants? The party of Hudak is serving croissants? Better check out the caterer – he may be a Liberal spy.
I am certainly no mercurial mastermind, most of the time I can barely do up my shoes, but boy, with all the genius politcal mind-melding that is applied during campaigns, the best we have is ‘flat Tim”. Ho hummm and sigh. I don’t think the opposite of a happy face will stick, because, well, it is the opposite of a happy face. I recognize things have to be simple and sticky, but I am not sure if the opposite of a happy face is the kind of thing that sticks. On the other hand they make nice buttons.
I am very worried that Hudack is out of the blocks early and is defining McGuinty and it reminds me of the Ford/Smitherman campaign.
Flat Tim may have been better presented with a couple of scars on his face ( health care ), a loose and droopy neck noose ( criminals escaping in our neighbourhoods ) and an upside down mortar board ( graduates hat-education ) and a runny nose, but all that would scare the children. Maybe be as bold as having an entire stick man.
If I were a Tory I would take flat Tim and decompress him – transformer style into a crime fighting, first aider,I Pad toting, methane spreading, caped super hero.
Anyway, what do I know, I just wish flat Tim was, well, not the opposite of a happy face…………………….and I wish I had a better suggestion.
I totally don’t get the flat Tim thing. Is it supposed to be funny or clever or attention-getting? Because it’s none of those things.
I don’t get what there isn’t to get about flat Tim. It’s a stick-figure drawing of Tim Hudak. Pure and simple. Political messaging, despite being thoroughly though-out, is always effective when it’s simple. This is not a superbowl ad.
Might I also add that this messaging is for the partisans, both Liberal and Conservative. It is meant to rally the cause on the Lib side and to frustrate and demoralize on the Conservative side. It is highly unlikely Flat Tim will ever make it to Primetime TV.
But thats just my two cents.
(Well! That is not very polite!)
What was up with Hudak’s front page photo in the Sun? Is he going for the Lord Sidious look? Or Smoking Man? And on a related note, Sorbara better watch who he calls a kid. He’s at risk of pushing away the 40 somethings who vote and the older folks who genuinely are of the mind to let new blood have a shot at running things. Especially if the new blood is talking about the HST and their hydro bills. Minimally, Sorbara is going to make Hudak look like the earnest underdog going up against an arrogant Liberal government.
Yes, but what is the goddamn message? Is it some kind of in-joke? I don’t know how it’s supposed to make me feel about Tim Hudak. I really don’t. How is it supposed to make me feel about Tim Hudak?
I have seen lots of simple political messaging, but it was never cryptic. “Not up to the job”, “not a leader”, “just visiting”, etc. “Reckless rookie”, I get. But Flat Tim? Huh?
LOL first, let’s all calm down. I guess I’ll explain further, though even I could be wrong (I’m not a war-roomer or communications guy and have no part in this camapign). The Flat Tim stick figure is simple because it has nothing to do with the stick figure. The focus is solely on the message, whether it be the “rookie”, his contradictory statements or a plain stick figure which is used to stick stuff in front of, like the picture above. There is no message in him being a stick figure. In fact, the only reason I can think to use a stick figure beyond it being incredibly simple visually so the viewer focuses on the statements and surrounding visuals, is that despite it being an election year, I bet a lot of the Hard-working Ontarians Hudak likes to talk about would be hard-pressed to pick him out from a line-up of Bay St. lawyers. The average ontarian has just not tuned into the provincial election cycle yet, and Hudak is not well-known. Why include his face in your communications and cede the advantage of an increased profile at this moment?
That is a ton of speculation though. I have a feeling the stick figure is simple, cheap and effective in carrying the written message. Also, like I pointed out earlier, these messages are partisan in nature, directed at Libs who read Warren and Tories attending the convention. They should be cheap and fun, because beyond getting under the other guys skin, they serve little purpose.
Flat Tim? I’d call him lost Tim. A man in search of a century. He’s currently lost somewhere in the late 19th. After promising 1850s-style chain gangs, and vowing to dismantle green energy, I am breathlessly awaiting such “progressive” conservative campaign planks as:
– a pledge to replace green energy with a revitalized Ontario candle-making industry (30 jobs at least by 2020!)
– a homeowners tax credit so citizens can build their own log cabins — credit gets bigger the farther you build into the bush
– an educational policy centred around bringing back high tech tools like slates and quill pens (don’t believe the iPod stuff, that’s just to fool the twitterverse into thinking he’s a cool)
– an anti-pollution incentive that will give you a rebate for trading in your SUV for a horse and buggy.
Tim Hudak — yesterday’s man! But seriously, never underestimate the effectiveness of using humour to make the public laugh at your opponent. Look what Obama just did to derail wanna-be President Trump. Slayed in one night!
Absolutely, I agree, with one key difference: the thing Obama did was *funny*.
Flat Tim is just… flat.
‘kay, I didn’t get it, either, but a link to a Now mag. article in one of the new Lepp’s lapse expose’ articles notes that it’s based on the ‘Flat Stanley’ series of children’s books about a hapless, naive kid who was squished into a 2-D crime-fighting Hardy boys type figure:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Stanley