An unbranded guerrilla advertising campaign for the Liberal Democrats will launch this week under the guise of the ‘Labservative’ party, with the aim of catching the attention of voters wavering between Labour and Conservative and challenging them to rethink what the real alternative is in the upcoming election.

The campaign seeks to highlight that a vote for Labour or the Conservatives is a vote for the status quo.  It centers around the website Labservative.com where a film features the leader of the Labservative party – a hybrid of David Cameron and Gordon Brown – delivering a manifesto.  The film is being seeded through social media channels and a billboard campaign, launching today, also directs people to the site.

Campaign posters feature provocative headlines including ‘Scandal. Recession. War. There’s no substitute for experience’ and ‘We’ve had 65 years to get it right. So what’s another 5?’.  All the ads showcase the slogan ‘Labservative – for more of the same’ on a deep purple backdrop created from a just-visible overlay of red and blue, while its logo is a familiar looking scribbled tree atop a rose stem.

Labservative in-situ shot

Jonny Oates, director of general election communications for the Liberal Democrats said, “Our campaign may appear to be tongue-in-cheek but in fact it raises a very serious issue.  The recent history of government in this country is of Labour and the Conservatives passing control back and forth between each other.  The party changes but history repeats itself.  If you vote Conservative you may as well vote Labour and vice versa.  We want the British public to know that the Liberal Democrats are the only real alternative.”

Other features on the Labservative site include further print ads such as ‘Familiarity Breeds Consent’, a shop to purchase Labservative merchandise and a link to ‘know the enemy’ which takes people through to the Liberal Democrats official site – the only clue given as to who’s behind the campaign.

Shaun McIlrath, executive creative director of iris – the advertising agency that created the campaign – said, “The Obama campaign in the sates showed that political marketing needn’t be a series of dumbed down platitudes and promises.  It shouldn’t be about patronising an already cynical audience. The electorate know that Labour and Conservative have become almost interchangeable.  Today the Liberal Democrats are the only real alternative.  This campaign simply points out that truth in an entertaining and engaging way”.

Tags: creative, digital, election, integrated, Labservative, Liberal Democrats, outdoor

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