[ELECTIONS 2003] About TV Ads

I'm not covering this campaign as extensively as you might expect, so I haven't been able to catch all major parties' ads on national television. But some comparisons can still be made between those used by SDP, HNS and HDZ.

SDP uses young couple in bed. Young man asks the obvious question. Girl says "Yes" and picture dissolves into "Yes! For Croatia" – SDP slogan.

HNS, which got much criticism for using CGI to make its leader Vesna Pusić (Vesna Pusic) twenty years younger on its official campaign posters, has stolen visual concept from the TV ad used by SDP for 2001 local elections. The content is different, though – young red-headed girl drives bicycle on Zagreb street and repeats usual arguments against going to the polls ("They are all the same", "My little voice won't change anything") than changes her mind and says ("Guess what? I'll try my chances with HNS. They are less same than the others"). So far, this is most effective of all TV ads – it is directed to the young urban people – the most likely pool of voters of HNS. Aleksandra Kolarić (Aleksandra Kolaric) praised this TV ad in her column for www.izbori.net.

Unlike previous campaigns, HDZ reserved its negative campaign only for billboards. However, their positive campaign went to the other extreme – lacking any credible program behind their "Let's move Croatia" slogan, they used CGI technology to deify Ivo Sanader in a manner that is used in such places like North Korea. HDZ chairman literally glows from screen, plays basketball, lawn balling and high-fives his party faithful, trying to reconcile image of authoritarian leader and "cool" modern guy. However, I think that HDZ, just like HSS, might very well regret using that particular ad. Namely, after hearing some nasty rumours about Sanader's private life, the glances Sanader gives to male models in ad might have some hidden meaning.