The extinction of the campaign poster in the digital age: A 2024 General Election special

The Conservative Party’s 1978 poster ‘Labour Isn’t Working’ is widely considered the blueprint of political party banner campaigning. Awarded Campaign magazine’s ‘poster of the century’ in 1999, the long and short term impact of the piece has cemented it as the benchmark from which most political marketing is now measured. The poster depicts a snaking queue of individuals lined up outside the ‘unemployment office’, with the intent to illustrate the scale of unemployment’s new high of five to six percent under James Callaghan’s Labour government at the end of the 1970s. Although originally published in anticipation of an upcoming election that year, the poster became an emblem of Thatcher’s campaign and subsequent win in 1979, with 1978’s ‘Winter of Discontent’ only helping to strengthen its core message.

Gone are the days of an election-defining image, replaced instead by catchy phrases like Theresa May’s ‘Strong and Stable’, or Boris Johnson’s ‘Get Brexit Done’.

The context of the poster’s creation and release is really where its cultural significance shines. Not only were the photographed queuers merely volunteers, not jobseekers, from the Hendon Young Conservatives, but the size of the queue was also an over-dramatisation. Only 20 volunteers showed up out of an expected 100, and so the queue had to be comprised of multiple shots of the same individuals photographed piece-by-piece. When viewed in isolation, ‘Labour Isn’t Working’ depicts nothing of the continuing escalation of the unemployment rate in subsequent years under Thatcher’s reign, which soared to as high as 11.9% in 1984. The irony is certainly evident in retrospect, making ‘Labour Isn’t Working’ a representation of the power of a poster in selling an idea, but not necessarily a wider reality.

The poster signalled a shift in British electioneering tactics, but despite Thatcher’s victory, the effect of party posters on the outcome of elections remains difficult to ascertain. The frequent recycling of this particular poster over the past 40 years has shaped its public impression beyond that of its original release, with the newly unveiled Conservative party poster for this year’s general election reminiscent of its iconic design. While persuasive, arguably posters illustrate how parties perceive the electorate, anticipating what will generate the best response, rather than being a useful measure of how their messages translate to certain voting behaviours.

Whilst we see fewer and fewer of these billboard-style posters in recent years, the simplicity of their memorable slogans continues to be reflected in modern campaigns, but often with less visual accompaniment. Gone are the days of an election-defining image, replaced instead by catchy phrases like Theresa May’s ‘Strong and Stable’, or Boris Johnson’s ‘Get Brexit Done’. Three words pack a punch, and the branding of such slogans in their respective elections becomes central in understanding what is sold by politicians as the most pressing issues of the day. Language has always been key, but today, political leaders know more than ever that their word choice could either make or break an election.

The decline of the iconic election poster may cause some dismay, though many suggest this merely signals a cultural sea change that could dictate the future of election campaigns for all parties.

Not only is language at the core of party values that are projected to the public, but critiquing the language of one’s opponents has become an equally leading tactic. In his general election announcement speech, Sunak interrogated Labour’s lack of clarity, stating: “I don’t know what they offer. And in truth, I don’t think you know either.” In response, Starmer established ‘stop the chaos’ as a central message of his campaign, breaking down his promises into an easily digestible “three reasons why you should change Britain with Labour.”

The digital age has undoubtedly transformed the campaigning scene, though the rise of primarily visual social media platforms has led to an increased focus on language, rather than widely recognisable images. If anything, this shows the centrality of discussion to the game of political persuasion. Any seats the Conservatives gained in 1979 from ‘Labour Isn’t Working’ can hardly be attributed to the print distribution of the poster, appearing on only 20 billboards across the country. It was the press, and interpersonal discourse, that inflated its public profile. This type of discussion has now found its way into comment sections on platforms such as TikTok. Short videos have become the new format of the political ‘poster’, as politicians are able to replicate the simplicity and accessibility of the poster in this new popular digital medium, with some even claiming the 2024 General Election as the first ‘TikTok election’. The decline of the iconic election poster may cause some dismay, though many suggest this merely signals a cultural sea change that could dictate the future of election campaigns for all parties.

Although the persuasive factor of digital campaigns and posters is difficult to measure, this shift does create new dimensions for the act of campaigning that were previously avoidable.

But how much of an impact will this almost entirely digital shift really have? In one respect, Labour are preaching to the converted, with their frequent meme-heavy uploads to TikTok receiving positive responses from a younger audience already in Labour’s favour from the start. The failure of the Conservatives to replicate Labour’s efforts is evident not only in the comments but from its account following, standing at less than a third of that of the Labour Party. It is clearly unfamiliar territory for the Conservatives, with their hopes of winning over a younger, dissatisfied age group appearing all but lost for the upcoming election

Although the persuasive factor of digital campaigns and posters is difficult to measure, this shift does create new dimensions for the act of campaigning that were previously avoidable. Social media enforces a degree of accountability that a static poster does not, creating a direct link between parties and their audiences. Indeed, the numerical comparison of likes, followers, and shares between parties can be a useful indicator of public opinion, with a continual illustration of the electoral sentiment being accessible to everyone for the entirety of the election run-up. The digitising of campaigns could see greater transparency, strengthening the legitimacy of our democracy and bringing politicians back down to earth. But whatever the major parties decide to do next, it will be our discussions that truly mobilise change.