With a provincial election looming, political parties and affiliate groups are already launching attack ads that range from the serious to the extremely silly.
British Columbians will go to the polls on May 12th, and the New Democratic Party.--as well as their supporting groups--are trying to unseat the ruling Liberals any way they can.
To achieve that goal, the Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union (COPE) has unleashed an online attack ad that appears to be getting attention.
"Gordon Campbell eats children! Aaahhhh," screams the ad, known on Youtube as Gordon Campbell Hates You.
It features crude cut-out images, which fly across the screen.
Premier Campbell, who leads the B.C. Liberal Party, is unmoved by the attacks.
"I haven't seen the commercials, but I'm not surprised," said Campbell.
He says his campaign will be more positive than the opposition's.
"I intend to deal with British Columbians like mature adults," Campbell said. "It's time to get above and way beyond these personal attacks I've been experiencing these last few years by the opposition."
But apparently mature adults enjoy cartoon attack ads, too.
"With the current global economy, I don't think the NDP should lead this province," claims one Liberal ad, showing two animated campaign signs chatting on a lawn.
New Democratice Party leader Carole James expects the trend to continue this season.
"We've seen people on all sides putting out ads that are nasty and I expect that's going to be the campaign we're going to see."
But political scientist Dr. Dennis Pilon says the ads have a serious undertone.
"We've got a lot of people out there [who] don't know much about politics. So they're using comedy, extreme statements to capture people's attention," Pilon said.
Attack ads are a well-used weapon in political campaigns, but this time around they are nearly all available online, on sites such as www.youtube.com
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Shannon Paterson
