Focus groups reject Tory spin on income trusts

[BitWhys]

Another amusing story about of our Cabinet marketing department...

Flaherty's office denies it planned full PR campaign; says government just tried to gauge whether public informed

May 25, 2007 04:30 AM
Allan Woods
Ottawa Bureau

OTTAWA–The Conservative government spent $18,000 testing television advertisements designed to put a positive spin on its broken election promise on income trusts, only to find out they were seen as an attempt to do political "damage control," a report obtained by the Star shows.

But Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's office denied yesterday it shelved a full-fledged public relations campaign in response to the negative feedback. Rather, the "television advertising treatments" were produced specifically for February focus groups to see if Canadians needed more information about the government's Tax Fairness plan. The key element of the plan was a decision made last October to tax income trusts contrary to the Tory pledge not to in the last election campaign.

"There were no ads. It was basically to gather some research to determine whether there was a need for any ads,"...

...
Two of the three advertisements tell viewers that, "the facts you don't know about income trusts are the facts you should know." But the report's authors noted that they encountered a common criticism: "For an ad that is framed in facts there are very few listed."

One ad featured a shattered piggy bank reassembling and seemed designed to convey the message that the government is protecting programs funded by tax dollars. But it left the focus group cold, feeling the government was defending a political decision, not a policy position.
...

Flahertly managed to hire a crowd that thinks the best way to gauge the public's needs is to have them watch Humpty Dumpty reruns and see what they think. :lol:

all the king's horses...