Brilliant first poster design here from Brynmor. It needs a little tweaking – I wouldn’t call myself a politician, as I have spent a very large amount on civil liberties campaigning and not made a penny out of it. But it is going to be very strong.
We are going to need volunteers. The election will be in July or September , with July looking more likely. Either way we need to start now. Stevie has volunteered to coordinate.
We need office workers, canvassers, leafletters, drivers, media handlers, IT campaign organisers, graphic artists, printers, fundraisers, volunteer coordinators, diary keepers, candidate cheerer uppers, accommodation providers. There is something everybody can do, of whatever age, however mobile, wherever they are.
If you would like to help, please start by sending an initial email to
giving full contact details, stating what time or resource you might make available, if you live in Norwich or if you can come when you might come, any relevant experience (not that this is required) and anything else that might help. We will work out shortly how to make donations – the offers are greatly appreciated. Accommodation will be available in Norwich for volunteers.
Excellent poster, but I would add an “X” in a box after the end of the bottom line, so that voters will immediately recognise it as a “party” on the ballot paper.
Hello
For reference, there have been a number of comments about adapting the poster on the original posting thread: http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2009/06/norwich_north_u.html#comments
where I posted the link at June 11, 2009 1:31 AM (currently near the bottom of the page)
Perhaps any coments should continue here, from this point.
I hope that you win.
Brynmor
Realised something else. It should be “What if one of them were different”, not “seems” – makes it sound like I’m already an MP protesting innocence.
There are 650 MPs – the poster makes the claim that 200+ (“hundreds” – i.e. nearly a thrid of them) are putting in bogus claims every day of the week – i.e. 365 days a year. Such a claim is quite clearly false and your opponents would say so. Why not just say “MPs have fiddled their expenses. What if one of them was honest?” It’s clearer and simpler (not that I would wish to endorse your campaign of course!) and it could not be challenged. It also needs fewer capitals.
Just an additional reference for context:
The poster is a parody of the 2008 Counter-Terrorism advertising campaign run by the London Metropolitan Police.
Originals can be seen here:
http://www.met.police.uk/campaigns/campaign_ct_2008.htm
Volunteered.
Brynmor – nice posters, both of them! The bit about the CPS ignoring you made me laugh out loud. The pigs pixelate a bit though so they look somewhat clip-art-ish – are they vector in the original?
Good poster Brynmor but an insult to pigs who are clean in comparison to our MPs – well alright – some of them.
@ora
Yes, everything but Craig’s image is vector-based and can be scaled without pixelation. I saved at a lower resolution jpeg for posting.
By request: Hazel Blears
http://www.b3tards.com/u/99463e4b0f1b647c6d03/hazelblears.jpg
DKPP: Department for Keeping People Poor
Nice design. Like others, I have a very soft spot for pigs [email me at [email protected] if you’d like my compilation to celebrate the Year of the Pig]. However, in this case I will regard the pigs as the Animal Farm masks of the heartless Stalinist devils who need to be driven over their impending electoral Beachy Head.
Dear Craig,
the poster seems a bit puerile. The politics is quite negative and I am afraid people might be turned off. Sure you have to make the point about people with their noses in the trough but to do it in this way is a little over the top. You may not be taken seriously on other issues.
Would possibly be better with your name somewhere prominent – not everyone will know you from you picture .. VOTE Murray!
Ain – I don’t agree. Craig’s campaign needs to stand out from the crowd to emphasise the fact that he is offering something different. Humour’s a powerful weapon and not something most politicians have the hang of.
I agree though, that a purely negative campaign would be a turn-off. Craig will no doubt have plenty of positive things to offer the people of Norwich North.
Quick idea: how about a photograph of an ambassadorial residence, or official car, with the caption: How Many Politicians Would Give This Up On a Matter of PRINCIPLE? With the inevitable – Craig Murray did. Find out more at .
Isn’t the use of pigs offensive to muslims? So if there is such a thing as a Norwich imam then your campaign might get publicity for the wrong reasons, especially as you are promoting yourself as a non-racist candidate.
SJB
I am married to a Muslim. The image of a pig is not in general offensive to a Muslim. It is unclean to eat or touch (the latter lest it contaminate your food). But it’s not in itself an offensive image, particularly as it is symbolising something negative.
SJB – Pork is forbidden to muslims as food, except in dire emergency. It is described in the Qur’an as “unclean”. But a picture of a pig isn’t offensive in normal circumstances except, perhaps, to a tiny minority who are always looking for offence. I would think showing politicians as pigs would not offend anyone except politicians. And they’ve got thick, bristly, skin.
Craig – actually even the very word “pig” is not uttered by many muslims from my neck of the woods. Such an act would bring “27 days” worth of bad luck they reckon. All depictions of pigs – even cuddly cute toys – are a no-no. It really depends – as you know muslim is a heterogeneous category. However it is not the pig depiction that worries me – it is its rather negative tone.
Hi there
I make no claims as to the maturity of the content of the poster – in the end all humour may be juvenile. It can be effective though, hence the popularity of such programmes on the television – Spitting Image made a difference to one election, as I recall.
Humour is often negative. The prat-fall and the pain caused to another is often the basis for many “jokes”.
A set of b/w politician-heads would probably be as effective as cartoon pigs – just a lot longer to produce.
Shafiur – I have a cassette of Islamic children’s songs one of which celebrates the animal kingdom, including pigs.
I’d like to see the evidence for 27 days’ bad luck from the hadith, ‘cos it sure isn’t in the Qur’an.
My kids have had cuddly pig toys when they were little and it certainly didn’t bother me, nor was it haraam (forbidden) nor makruh (disliked).
how about,
help me to reduce the instances of swine flu in politics
Hmm – could backfire. At the very least it needs a photograph of you which is not a full face, police department, mugshot. You don’t stand out enough from the porcine background. Make friends with a good portrait photographer. There could be one reading this….
Tom Kennedy
Your idea of a poster of a Rolls Royce or palace with trimmings and caption ‘How many would give this up on principle? One man did.’ (presumably with a pic of Craig and PAHMIP (X) at the bottom)
sounds brilliant. Of course, I am not fighting the election.
Obviously i hope you win Craig but i can’t help but agree with other comments here that feel the poster is a bit puerile-which can come across as negative campaigning;thus counter-productive.
A bit less petty spite and more maturity might sit better with your prospective voter methinks,although i grant you that in the current climate of anger maybe this is exactly the approach required to galvanise your vote…
Regards.
Tom, I have no idea whether the 27 day things is in the Hadith or not. Nor do I care. As I said my neck of the woods – a particular region of Bangladesh (district Faridpur), these views hold sway. I really don’t want to get into a discussion about pigs. LOL. Just wanted to say that a variety of views exist out there and there is no one muslim view. My main point was about the undeniable negativity of the poster.
It’s really important to target the people who’d be more likely to vote for you.
The elderly 70+ are absolutely disgusted and shocked by the expenses scam. I am myself quite taken aback by the degree of their disgust.
Also I think it might be an idea to target 18+. Many sixth formers don’t give a toss about politics but they’ll like your poster. Graduates will be really pissed off not being able to get a job which means their alcoholic consumption will be drastically reduced.
Shafiur, in my opinion there needs to be a whole range of publicity material. To start with there has to be a way of introducing Craig to potential voters, since many won’t have heard of him. The more dramatic or eye-catching, the better. I think the poster above is perfect for that.
If Craig just appears as some worthy who promises to reform Westminster, and uses traditional methods of advertising, he’ll get lost in the crowd. After all, the Tories and Lib Dems will be running on a “Reform Politics” ticket too.
Later, assuming Craig achieves the name recognition he requires, there needs to be a different emphasis, this time on what he would do as an MP for (a) the people of Norwich North and (b) politics in general.
And he will also need to react to – or better still, pre-empt – the inevitable negative campaigns that will be waged against him.
A final push will be required to get out the vote and remind people of what will happen if they choose business as usual.
I share Bill Hicks’ aversion to marketing and may need to lie down for a while.
I like it. Its funny. And it is one poster, not the whole campaign. There will be plenty of policy leaflets etc.
Shafiur, I know what you mean. Frankly, after Blackburn, where the great majority of Muslims voted with their pockets for war criminal Jack Straw, I am simply not going to bother even thinking about the “Muslim vote” as such.
Individual Muslims who want to support me are extremely welcome. Tne Muslim community in Norwich North is small.
Brynmor, can you do a near final version
taking up my suggestions on this and the first thread?
This sounds like a facetious remark, but I’m being serious: that poster could trigger migraines in people who are prone to them. Looking at it certainly made me feel very uncomfortable.