Sign wars in election campaigns are usually predictable affairs. .Candidates try to get signs displayed on the lawns of citizens while filling every possible public space with more signs as they try to gain name recognition. .The signs are typically pretty basic. They will include the candidate's name in large print, a short campaign slogan in smaller print, a website in even smaller print, and occasionally some of the larger signs will have a picture of the candidate. .If there is controversy to be found in sign wars, it is usually one candidate accusing the other of vandalizing their signs. More often than not, the vandals are just kids or drunks. Once in awhile, a candidate may run afoul of local sign placement bylaws and be chided by local authorities. Forgettable incidents of little consequence. .Occasionally, creative sign campaigns can catch the public eye. The "Burma-Shave" sign campaign was a fantastic marketing effort in the 1920s. While the shaving cream itself has been long forgotten, the sign campaign itself inspired similar sign tactics that are used today. .In this Alberta election, the Notley NDP did something different. They put out dozens if not hundreds of large signs with an image of UCP leader Danielle Smith's head impaled upon a weathervane accompanied by a the question: "What will she do next?" .The intent was presumably to imply Smith is unpredictable and indecisive. .It was an odd tactic. Negative campaigns are not new but parties usually don't go out of their way to highlight their opponents with signs. .Somebody in the UCP war room recognized an opportunity and their response was brilliant. .Small signs were printed with the same background colours as the NDP attack signs and they had slogans printed on them in answer to the question. .The signs said things such as "Make streets safe" and "Cut taxes". .The signs were then placed on wire stakes in front of the NDP attack signs which effectively turned them into positive campaign signs for the UCP. .The NDP likely spent tens of thousands in having so many full colour 8x4 campaign signs for the initiative and for under a thousand dollars the UCP turned the signs into an asset for themselves. .Perhaps the funniest part of all is how the NDP campaign reacted. .In what was clearly a rushed effort, they have had signs made with two colors and the simple statement of "This election is about leadership and trust." They replaced every one of their original attack signs with them. They didn't even bother to try and use party colours or come up with a good slogan. They just wanted to replace their attack-signs with something benign as fast as humanly possible. . Sign correction .Campaigns are always studied after the fact. All parties look to see what worked and didn't work. .The NDP attack-sign debacle will be used as an example of what not to do for many elections to come. .With only a week remaining in the campaign, it is still anybody's game. The battle of the signs though, has been decisively won by the UCP.
