Canadians Are On To Harper's "Action Plan" Propaganda

Eight polls, all of them of course on your tax dollar, were commissioned by the federal finance department between 2009 and 2012 to learn that Canadians are fed up with Harper's incessant "Economic Action Plan" ads.   The polls, by the way, alone cost $300,000.

The most-recently released survey has respondents calling the material “propaganda” and a “waste of money,” while fewer people than ever are taking any action after viewing the ads.

The Finance Department, meanwhile, continues to air the ads, with the latest TV campaign kicking off Monday and running to April 30.

...One of the actions described by respondents in last year’s survey included “expressed my disbelief.” Only six individuals who saw the ads said they went to the EAP website, a relatively low uptake that has been consistent over four years.

And a Privy Council Office analysis of the 2012 numbers shows that when people were quizzed about the actual content of the TV ads, only 20 per cent could describe them in any detail. That suggests the campaign was connecting with only one in five Canadians.

The spring 2012 television campaign, which followed an austerity budget, cost the Finance Department $3.8 million, plus another $1.1 million for production of the ads themselves. Critics questioned the spending of ad money in a time a belt-tightening, but officials said government has a responsibility to communicate with Canadians.

The Harper government continues to buy ad time for its Economic Action Plan, including for Super Bowl Sunday football just last month, when Human Resources and Skills Development bought a series of pre-game ads featuring the EAP logo. The coming 10-week ad campaign by the Finance Department, which launches Monday, will reprise last fall’s version.

So, if the ads are a multi-million dollar bust, why are they still running?   Maybe this is how Harper keeps the television network execs happy and onside.