Last week saw the Conservatives unveil their first billboard poster campaign of the New Year, with Cameron’s party opting to use the slogan ‘let’s stay on the road to a stronger economy,’ with a backdrop of a tranquil road and a scenic view of England’s ‘green and pleasant land.’
The Tories latest campaign billboard...
...starring a digitally touched-up image of a German road
What the Conservatives didn’t realise, though, is just how eagle-eyed and ruthless the internet can be, with rumours on Twitter circling about the actual location of the featured road. It turns out it’s not a British road at all, it’s actually located somewhere near Weimar, Germany, and has been touched up digitally - presumably in the hope that no one would notice.
People weren’t fooled, though, and it’s not the first time there’s been a negative backlash against a Conservative campaign poster. 2010’s posters and billboards were famously subject to graffiti attacks, as well as being mocked in countless internet memes.
It’s not just the Conservatives who have recently struggled to produce successful billboard campaigns, though. Last April saw UKIP cause a stir when the star of their billboard – a bereft, jobless, British worker – turned out to be Irish.
UKIP's 'British workers' billboard starred an Irish actor
It seems more and more difficult for any political party to produce a billboard campaign in recent years, without it resulting in heavy scrutiny and a public backlash. Social media in particular means that people are quicker than ever to jump on the mistakes of the would-be rulers of the country. This Twitter user below was quick to find fault with Labour’s 2014 poster, which mocked David Cameron and Nick Clegg for an increase in VAT to shopping bills - by comparing them to food which is VAT-free.
Social media makes it easy to pick holes in political posters