New Labour, New Danger was an advertising campaign run in the United Kingdom by the Conservative Party in the lead-up to the 1997 general election. The campaign was conceived by creative director Martin Casson at the advertising agency M&C Saatchi and was designed as a direct response to the Labour Party's rebranding under leader Tony Blair as "New Labour."
Background
The term "New Labour" was the branding adopted by the Labour Party under the leadership of Tony Blair to signal a departure from the party's traditional policies and image. The Conservative Party's slogan "New Labour, New Danger" was intended to counter this rebranding by warning voters that the party's changed presentation masked underlying risks.
Design and Content
The main poster used in the campaign featured a picture of Labour Party leader Tony Blair on a black background, with a strip of the poster appearing torn across Blair's eyes. The eyes were replaced with a pair of "demon eyes," and the slogan "New Labour, New Danger" appeared below the image. The use of red—the colour typically associated with the Labour Party—was prominent in the design.
A subsequent poster in the campaign used the "demon eyes" imagery on a purse and carried the slogan "New Labour, New Taxes." The "demon eyes" motif was also incorporated into the Conservative Party's party political broadcast for the election.
Reception and Controversy
The campaign drew considerable attention and mixed reactions. The advertising trade publication Campaign praised the advertisement, judging that it had achieved its objective of questioning Blair's character, and it was declared "the best advert of the year." The Conservatives reportedly gained approximately £5 million worth of free publicity as a result of the media coverage the campaign generated.
However, the campaign was also widely criticised. A poll conducted by the poster site company Maiden Outdoor found that 64 per cent of respondents disliked the campaign. The Labour Party condemned it as negative advertising, and in September 1996, former Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath also criticised the poster.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received approximately 150 complaints about the Blair poster, including one from the Bishop of Oxford. The ASA upheld the complaints and instructed the Conservatives to withdraw the poster, stating its belief that it portrayed Blair as "dishonest and sinister" and noting that the campaign had been run without Blair's permission to use his image.
In 1999, the ASA decided to stop regulating political advertising, citing this advertisement as a particularly difficult case. In explaining its decision, the ASA stated: "The free flow of argument in the cut and thrust of open debate is the best antidote to political advertising that misleads or offends."
Outcome
The Conservative Party went on to suffer its worst election defeat in more than half a century in the 1997 general election. Some journalists speculated that the poster contrasted unfavourably with Labour's more positive campaign, and the campaign has been widely regarded as counterproductive despite its notoriety.
Legacy
In August 2012, it was announced that the "demon eyes" design would be used in the American comedy film The Campaign. Additionally, Labour Party workers founded an amateur football team called Demon Eyes F.C., named after the advertisements; the team once won Thames League Division 1 before being disbanded.
