Party political broadcasts---billboards---past use-by date?

It’s election time in NZ and as usual we have all the same old, same old methods of reaching out to the masses, in the name of ‘democracy. WE already know that most people always vote the same, no matter what their favourite son or daughter re politics has said of done. Only a relatively small minority are actually ‘swing’ voters, but this group do represent the real target for political adverting. WE have had the TV launches, which most people did not see as they were watching something else on TV---the rugby! Then we have the rubbish stuck in our letter boxes, much of which ends up in bins. We also have the spectre of those ugly billboards (Although Masa are a bit different and the greens are ‘pretty.’) you know---the ones that start off pristine but end up as either works of art, targets of funny arses or revolting examples of hate, indifference or kiddy-like drawings with moustaches. Do the latter make any difference to the way we vote? Do you really look at them and say---‘Gee, that’s a good point, I think I will vote for that party.’ Of course they don’t. They just become the targets of either the wind or dopey people having a bit of fun. Of course there are the examples of the more disturbing—take those eyes of Colin Craig that seem to ‘follow you around!’ I am quite glad that people have set up an improvement society to soften those particularly ugly billboards. Oops, now he will set up a camera to see who is doing it---hell he could always leave them in that trailer he leaves at a 30 minute parking zone all day, eh. So in this day and age of the NET, maybe we don’t need our streets filled with ‘targets for the bored.’ Let’s move on! www.authorneilcoleman.com