This isn’t a handshake, this is a blog showing Premier Christy Clark’s jobs and families plan in action!
Yes, she’s spending taxpayers’ dollars to support jobs at advertising agencies and (mostly) radio and TV stations. She’s trying to prop-up her floundering popularity with propaganda. It’s the British Columbia way. The Social Credit Party started doing this in the 1980s, the NDP thought they turned it into a fine art in the 1990s and then the Liberals came along and have been at it for more than a decade.
If you’ve been watching National Football League playoffs, you’ve seen the latest ads ad nauseam. The Liberals know this is so sensitive that they don’t want to tell you or me about how many millions of dollars of advertising time has been booked for these ads in the weeks and months to come.
On Dec. 14, 2011, I filed a Freedom of Information request seeking the advertising plan, including budget and expenditures, for creation, production and placement of ads.
Below is the single-page document I received on Jan. 18, 2012, showing that $866,697 had been spent. The ads were created by Cossette and the media buyer is Vizeum. The campaign is far from over. And I am not done trying to find out exactly how much this campaign will cost.
The B.C. government spends about $30 million a year on advertising. Government has a legitimate reason to advertise information about public services, but B.C. is known for wasting millions of dollars on glitzy image campaigns intended to heighten the profile of the party in power.
Notice how the memo provided me was dated Dec. 22, 2011, but the response was dated Jan. 18, 2012.
Did Clark give jobs to families of sloths?
News and views on Vancouver 2010 (and beyond) from Bob Mackin.
Interesting blog. I wish Indian Advertising Agencies will also learn from you people.