The Golding clan on the campaign trail. Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Leader, Bruce Golding (second right), is flanked by daughter, Annmerita (left), wife, Lorna, and son, Steven. The JLP has presented Golding as a family man in political ads. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has been on the campaign trail and advertising since last August, starting with a series of television spots focusing on Golding as a family man.

These ads featured acclamations by his wife Lorna, lauding his support for the family and her bakery business; daughter Shereen (surrounded by books) stressing his support for her, and education in general; son Steven, photographed on a fishing beach, bigging up ‘Pops’ as ‘rootsy’.

These were positive support of character and also clearly intended to stake Golding’s challenge to Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller’s advantage in the ‘caring’ stakes and to the family values which she has championed since assuming leadership of the People’s National Party (PNP) in February last year.

Both leaders are no doubt keenly aware that church and other social advocacy groups have been arguing for a return to family values as essential to stemming the tide of social disorder and inter-personal violence in the society.

Embarrased PNP

The other phase of the early part of the JLP campaign featured three attack ads calling attention to the Trafigura controversy in which the PNP founditself embarrassed over receipt of a questionable contribution of $31 million from the Dutch oil trading firm, and which cost Colin Campbell his jobs as minister of information and development and general secretary of the party.

These ads had two messages: One message was clear from the title, ‘PNP Sell-Out’, suggesting that the party had sold out the interest of the country for its own benefit of a political contribution.

The other, ‘Poor People and Trafigura,’ suggested that the poor might have benefited from the money. “Mi ca’an believe Portia ask poor people to dip inna dem pocket when she a siddung pon $31 million. Mi ca’an trust Portia again,” said a female voice in this ad.

These ads would have had some effect by associating the PNP with improper conduct and they had the party on the defensive in the media for quite some time.

However, it was harder to make the corruption label stick as it was unable to link anyone with personal gain, and the role of the JLP leader in unearthing the information was also under question.

Further, the JLP overreached a bit by suggesting that the $31 million would have been better directed at areas of social neglect when it had been clearly established that the money did not belong to the State.

Now we are in the final stages of the campaign, starting with the JLP launch of its ‘Time for a Change’ series focusing on the PNP’s 18 years in office. The ruling party was characterised as an old bus, unfit for the ‘prosperity’ journey and that changing driver from P.J. Patterson to Simpson Miller would make no difference.

This phase has been intensified since the Prime Minister announced the election date at a mass rally in Half-Way Tree on July 8.

Arguably the most effective ad of the campaign so far is an attack ad which cleverly spliced comments by ministers on the poor state of education and other services with the constant refrain by the prime minister, ‘not changing no course’.

The ad captures two attributes of the best political advertising, namely, plausibility and pleasure.

Golding’s commitment ad

It is plausible because the statements it can be argued that they were taken out of context, clearly showed government ministers – including the prime minister – saying things are not going well, yet the prime minister says they will not change course.

It provides pleasure because it has funny images, including the unflattering picture of Minister of Education, Maxine Henry-Wilson sleeping in the House.

The JLP followed this ‘attack’ ad with a positive or affirming one in which Golding looks into the camera and states, “I have the team that is committed to making that change and I am the driver”, with the popular song, The Change is Coming Baby’audible underneath. This, too, is effective.

Meanwhile, the PNP, though slow off the mark, has begun to catch up with positive ads showing impressive images from $500 billion in investment and Simpson Miller looking prime ministerial and caring as she shows off the party’s accomplishments.

The next article, will take a closer look at these and first PNP attacks on Golding.