The election is tomorrow, if you hadn’t realised. Here, Luke Amasi, iProspect client director, explains what he reckons needs to be fixed to make political advertising good.
I’ve never started one of these by apologising. But it feels necessary.
Why?
Because this article is about the election. And if there’s one thing the world doesn’t need right now, it’s more election chat.
Australians are deep in a state of political fatigue. The major parties are polling in the mid-30s for primary votes, historic lows, according to Newspoll. For context: that’s the worst result in Newspoll’s history for the two-party primary vote.
Now, imagine you’re working on a brand that just hit historic lows. Your client would be in full-blown crisis mode.
And with that, here’s my dummies guide to election advertising.
Telling the Truth
Ever wonder why it’s so easy for politicians to promise the world before an election and then completely backflip afterward? Or why they throw around absurd stats in a desperate attempt to sway us?
Here’s a fun fact: political ads are exempt from truth-in-advertising laws under federal regulation.
Zali Steggall, the member for Warringah, is trying to change that. In February 2025, she introduced the Ethical Political Advertising Code (EPAC), her third attempt to drag political advertising into the real world. The EPAC invites candidates, parties, and campaigners to commit to honesty and transparency. It calls for ads to be accurate, substantiated, and clearly label any AI-generated or manipulated content. Participants can even slap a shiny badge on their ads to show they’re playing fair. Imagine that: politicians voluntarily telling the truth.
Meanwhile, every other industry; alcohol, pharmaceuticals, finance gets held to strict codes: ABAC, TGA, ASIC, AANA, ACMA, ACCC, CRA, OMA, Commercial TV Codes, Subscription TV Codes… the list goes on.
But when it comes to politics? It’s the Wild West.
So, here’s my radical recommendation: just tell the truth. With trust in politicians scraping along rock-bottom, being authentic and honest might – shocking, I know – actually work.
Punching down on your competitors
Marketing legend Seth Godin (author of Purple Cow and This is Marketing) once said:
“You don’t become indispensable by tearing down the competition. You do it by making something remarkable.”
He argued that the energy spent attacking rivals is better spent building your own brand and he was right.
A Wall Street Journal article published earlier this year detailed how brands that constantly bash their competitors can end up hurting themselves. Studies show that prolonged brand conflict doesn’t just drag down one brand it damages the entire category, eroding trust and shrinking demand.
From a commercial perspective: nobody wins. Favourability drops across the board, and everyone’s brand equity takes a hit.
Sound familiar?
In Australian politics, the two major parties are locked in an endless cage match and surprise, surprise, their primary vote shares are now scraping historic lows. Public trust in politicians has fallen off a cliff.
So here’s my recommendation: Focus on why you’re worth voting for, not why the other mob sucks.
Frequency capping
Ok Clive, this one’s for you, mate.
(And don’t get cocky, Allegra and Ro, you’re on notice too.)
I feel like we’re on a first-name basis at this point, given I hear your voices and see your faces more than my own parents. Why are you so obsessed with me?
Between what was spent at the last election and current SMI pacing, political ad spend this cycle is tipped to hit somewhere between $50–$100 million, depending on who’s counting. It was revealed shortly after the election was called that Clive dropped $400k on Snapchat alone. Hopefully he at least asked for a brand lift study with that level of investment.
Now, as someone who works in advertising, I get it: we’re often the first to suffer creative fatigue because we’re so close to our own campaigns. But seriously, it’s not just diminishing returns at this point. It’s fatigue. It’s exhaustion. And by the way, those plastic placards zip-tied to every telegraph pole? They aren’t even measured in MOVE, and honestly, they should be.
We know that relentless ad exposure doesn’t just make people tune out, it actively harms brand perception. Overexposure breeds irritation, damages brand loyalty, and, in politics, accelerates the public’s sprint toward pure apathy.
For context, the general recommendation is three ad exposures per week.
Honestly, Clive, Allegra, Ro, I’d cap you at three per day… max.
Save your money. Spend it on the community. (Or at least on better creative.)
Consent
The hottest topic in advertising for 2025? AI, obviously.
Just kidding, we’re going to talk about the real firestarter: data consent.
You might assume that, like every brand and partner we work with, political parties have to respect consumers’ right to privacy and protect their contactable information.
You’d be wrong. Spectacularly wrong.
News.com.au reported that, according to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), political parties are exempt from most spam and telemarketing rules during election campaigns.
Just to spell it out, every other business in Australia must comply with the 2003 Spam Act, which requires:
- Consumers to give express consent (e.g., ticking a box saying “yes, contact me via SMS”).
- Clear identification of the business.
- An easy unsubscribe option (e.g., “Reply STOP to unsubscribe”).
- If a brand doesn’t follow these rules?
ACMA will happily fine them into oblivion.
Meanwhile, politicians can spam you at will. No consent. No clear opt-outs. No consequences.
My recommendation?
Respect your audience.
Unsolicited political texts don’t just annoy people they actively damage your brand and erode voter goodwill.
Conclusion
So, what did I learn from this little journey?
While media and advertising agencies spend most of their lives developing best practices for creative and media channels painstakingly adhering to category and media codes political parties apparently missed that memo.
Those same standards should apply during an election. Especially then.
This rant started because let’s face it: I can’t help Peter build nuclear reactors, and I can’t help Albo roll out the Housing Australia Fund.
But we the people who live and breathe media and advertising could help political parties rebuild trust and preference.
How?
By getting them to follow a few simple, common-sense rules for how they show up in their campaigns. Turns out, best practice isn’t just good for brands. It’s good for democracy too.
