New NDP TV ad focuses on ‘change for the better’

A TV ad featuring B.C. NDP leader Adrian Dix speaking to a cheering crowd about positive politics over a feel-good guitar riff will begin airing Monday in what is expected to be the first wave of NDP ads heading into the May 14 election campaign.

Cut from a speech Dix gave to a provincial council meeting of NDP delegates in February, the 30-second spot is expected to run for several weeks throughout B.C. In it, Dix literally takes centre stage behind an orange podium bearing the NDP’s election logo: “Change for the Better: One practical step at a time.”

“Politics has become a dirty word for too many people,” Dix tells the crowd.

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“We have to bring people back to the political process, making politics more meaningful, more thoughtful and more generous.”

As the ad progresses, the background guitar riff intensifies and the narrative is intercut with consecutive screen grabs that read “Time for a Change” and “Time for a New Government.”

http://youtu.be/wweCEegMUt0

Featuring words like “optimism,” “hope,” and “opportunity,” the ad offers a contrast to the attack ads the B.C. Liberals and third-party groups have been running against Dix for well over a year, said the NDP’s Carole James.

“It is a continuation of the direction Adrian has given since he was elected leader, which is that we will run a positive campaign,” she said. “I think it will particularly stand in contrast to the negative, angry campaign that we have seen the Liberals running.”

Also of interest is that at the beginning of the advertisement there is a tag that reads:

“Adrian Dix and the B.C. NDP,” which could signal an effort by the party to capitalize on Dix’s strong personal public approval ratings.

In contrast, the B.C. Liberals recently dropped “Christy Clark” from their election logo, which now reads “Today’s B.C. Liberals.” According to one recent public opinion poll, Clark’s public approval rating is 20 points behind Dix, at 27 per cent.

The Dix ad ends with the Opposition leader repeating the NDP’s election-logo slogan.