Smithson: Meet ‘Pete the 5-minute brickie’ talking big picture… opportunity
Words of warning from Mike Smithson as he tells Ashton Hurn to throw some pizza dough or climb Mount Lofty if she wants to catch the premier’s picture perfect campaign.
Let the games begin and don’t hold back the theatrics.
Whether voters like it or not, state election campaigns are four-yearly events which drive our party leaders and others into photo opportunities they either relish or would rather forget.
Daily stunts, including the occasional kissing of babies, are unavoidable unless they want to miss their spot in the nightly news cycle or in popular online or press publications
Peter Malinauskas and Ashton Hurn have both been campaigners at the front line and behind the scenes, so they know how this complex game works.
How they’re portrayed to the public is often the result of which bright spark in their campaign team comes up with the best theatrical opportunity or how far they’re prepared to go in sticking their necks out.
For instance, the caretaker-premier made certain he looked the part arriving at a construction site this week wearing faded chinos and a pair of well-worn steel cap boots.
He volunteered to lay some bricks at the new high-density housing project, which would rarely happen outside the campaigning period.
He greeted every worker, young and old, with a “g’day I’m Pete” as if they had no idea who the bloke with the camera entourage was.
A large part of his Housing Skills policy was the visuals of him getting his hands dirty.
With the help of a veteran brickie, he attempted to trowel mortar onto a brick and lay part of a conveniently completed course which was just at the right height.
Each item was carefully repositioned by the expert soon after, just in case ‘five-minute brickie Pete’ had misaligned the brick which would cause later problems as the wall grew.
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As often happens, the leader is then cheerfully self-deprecating as he’s given the all- clear from camera operators that they have enough material.
For good measure he cut a few bricks, again under a watchful eye, using a potentially dangerous diamond cutting wheel.
Perhaps safety gloves could be used next time.
It’s these moments which matter because they’re the ones crafted into the front end of television news stories.
They’re also the eye-catching images which help influence readers of InDaily and other publications.
The Opposition leader was at Port Pirie the same day making an important but picture-poor policy promise on financially helping students to stay in the regions to get tertiary qualifications.
It’s sometimes hard to balance the political look and content and give all parties a fair go as is ethically required in the lead up to election day.
That’s where both parties’ creative minds and forward planners always win the day, and it must be achieved day after day.
Hurn is an old hand at planning campaigns as an advisor, but she’s a newcomer to being the main act.
Her big picture opportunities have been largely scarce and bland so far, aside from a gym workout and tuna toss.
Mingling in a group or talking to people holding placards doesn’t exactly cut the mustard.
She needs to be out throwing pizza dough, trying her hand as a barista or even taking charge in the classroom for a lesson to capture more of the currently Labor-dominated policy attention.
But with such rewards also comes the risk that something goes astray and hijacks the story but so be it.
Even her first foray into the leader’s job was a golden opportunity which she let slip.
She acknowledged she had a mountain to climb to win back government.
Her media conference took place at Waterfall Gully at the start of the popular steep walk to Mount Lofty.
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It was a relatively quick picture-op and a stand-up interview in her usual attire.
Sweaty workout gear, a backpack and hot, panting breath at the top of the climb, with equally exhausted Liberal cronies in tow, would have been a far more memorable image that would be repeatedly used.
Doing it tough as a battler resonates more with the voting public than half an effort which was vanilla and forgettable.
So be watchful of what party leaders do and the extents to which they’re prepared to go.
Former MLC, senator and SA Best leader Nick Xenophon created the art of pictures, like no other.
From whizzing down North Terrace on a toy BMW, to walking a so-called cash cow along the same busy strip or installing a Thomas the Tank Engine gravy train on the steps of parliament, his “have a go” attitude never changed.
Most of the stunts were designed to show taxpayer-funded greed or wastage he considered unlawful or unfair.
Politicians have tried to copy his style with various degrees of success, but many others considered it abhorrent.
In today’s instant news cycle, political leaders need to learn to get on board or get left behind.
Images even come down to who’s in the camera shot behind the leader.
Usually they’re inanely nodding, but at least they’re doing something.
Both party launches were impressive, but Labor’s stood taller.
Wide shots of Peter Malinauskas on stage in full flight were crammed with familiar faces across the 360-degree stage background.
It came across as an unending sea of supporters.
The men were predominantly in crisp white open-necked shirts and dark jackets, except for the leader himself, dressed in a suit and tie.
The women were clearly instructed to dress in traditional Labor red or shades of pink, even his two daughters.
It’s the same striking campaign model used in America and Europe, but it works.
Almost nothing happens by chance during election campaigns.
The media is often only notified shortly before these well-planned appearances.
Details and locations are kept tight in case the other side gets the jump and tries to dive in first or, even worse, protesters get wind of the event and become unwelcome visitors.
You may now want to view the nightly news or published images for what they really are, carefully orchestrated, planned and executed appearances under tight control.
Mike Smithson is weekend presenter and political analyst for 7News.
