Comment from Peter Saxon
By this morning, it seemed that despite spending, by some estimates, more $50 million in advertising, Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party has failed to win a seat in either house of parliament.
Palmer’s party used every method old and new to sell his message to the public but rather than re-enforce his brand he annoyed and irritated people with the sheer weight of the schedule.
Does Mr Palmer’s return on investment bring into question the value of advertising?
To the contrary, as legendary DDB Creative Director, Bill Bernbach is attributed to saying, “Nothing kills a bad product faster than good advertising.”
I wouldn’t necessarily call it “good” advertising but there certainly was a lot of it.
Another of Bernbach’s sayings was “The most powerful element in advertising is the truth.”
Clearly, Australia was sufficiently familiar with the Clive Palmer product to know where the truth lies.
Peter Saxon
