Dr. Vicki Arbes: If government ads get creative, they’ll win hearts and minds

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Despite the inevitable party political bickering about the misuse and waste of taxpayer funds, modern governments rely on mass communication channels, and this is not about to change, says Dr. Vicki Arbes, chief executive of Hall & Partners | Open Mind, in today’s SMH.

Government campaigns differ from political campaigns: being taxpayer- rather than party-funded, they must show a clear community benefit and satisfy accountability requirements. Yet they also must ”sell” an idea, argument or course of action, just as commercial advertisers do. The difference is the till doesn’t have to ring at the end of the ”sale”.