Posted by There should be more subtlety in an era of professional politicians than Gillard’s klutz-politics.
With advances in neuroscience and behavioural sciences, the art of political PR should be getting better. Yet it seems to rely even more on large, broad brush, ham-fisted symbolism.
Take Gillard’s photo shoot,for a woman’s magazine, of her sitting and knitting.
It follows a speech at a self-organised rally for herself, a speech that said only she could save woman-friendly policy, and the obviously staged revelation of an obnoxious Liberal-party fund-raising dinner menu that mocked her.
The photo was actually reasonable: Gillard honestly likes knitting, and she was knitting a lovely personal gift.
Given the context of Gillard’s bid for the coming election – very low approval ratings – these sorts of stunts are asking for trouble.
My concern is the ham-fisted nature of such publicity efforts. They treat people like they’re stupid. Put Gillard on a photo with her knitting. Let people see she’s normal.
No, normal is an everyday thing… it’s not a thing you express in a pose for a photo.
True political PR understands the nuances of everything you do everyday, and weaves that into a personality and presentation which connects politicians to the voters, and voters to the politicians.
