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Yesterday the Tories unveiled what could be only be described as the biggest blunder of the election campaign. It was a brave decision for Cameron to go with a campaign that plastered the face of his opposing number across the UK but the backlash is sure to come, and not necessarily from the direction that the Conservatives had taken a gamble on. The fear that the public may mistakenly see the face and assume it’s a Labour poster without reading the slogans shouldn’t be the Tories’ main worry, rather the public will see the image, read the caption and be pushed further away from the whole election experience.

The Conservatives have misjudged the public mood. In the face of the parliamentary expenses scandal and most recently last week’s Dispatches expose of the murky world of cash for access through ex-Ministers and soon to be stars of the Lords, such negative campaigning is another smack in the face for the already weary public. Society en masse is already oh so aware of the proposed austerity drive that lingers on the horizon. The prospects are pretty bleak in general, what the public wants, what the public needs, is evidence that the next government has the vision, the drive and the authority to lead and that is not being currently demonstrated by the latest Conservative poster campaign.

The campaign is also the second this year unveiled by the Tories. Who could forget the ‘I’ve never voted Conservative before but…’ billboards complete with a Hollywood gloss prime minister in waiting. It was the campaign that never was, falling victim to a guerrilla attack which catapulted the poster onto every social networking site and culminated in a public consciousness, though not the one the Conservatives were hoping for – everyone had their favourite unofficial variation. Pushing aside the subliminal cost message that this campaign brought with it, I assume that Conservative high command took stock of postergate before embarking on their current foray, so I remain slightly puzzled as to how they could translate public reaction to their last media campaign (possibly overly air-brushed and tinged with a certain smugness, not to mention quite humorous – though the latter of course refers to the unofficial Cameronise-your own web versions) as vindication that their next media blitz should underline the worst excesses of negative campaigning.

Saatchi may be a lucrative multi-million pound business and may be credited with helping sweep Thatcher to power in the 1970s but a looming period of union unrest alone does not transport us back in time. The public may not have fallen in love with Gordon Brown but they have not fallen out of love with Labour. In this election where differing panaceas are being offered to cure society’s ills the Labour heartland will rally. The quest therefore remains for the elusive floating voters and PR faux pas can be a costly price to pay.           

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