Election 2010

Camouflage Campaign

The race for the presidency has yet to officially begin but one candidate is already canvassing

Ukraine is set to elect a new head of state on January 17, 2010, but although the official campaign is not due to begin until mid-October the country’s towns and cities have already been plastered in the campaign colours of one of the leading candidates for the president’s office. Former Foreign Minister and Parliamentary Speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who has been billed by his supporters as Ukraine’s Obama-style ‘candidate for change’, has launched his image-building operation early in what is an apparent bid to raise his profile and improve brand recognition before the autumnal onset of the campaign proper.

Iconic and Orwellian

Yatsenyuk’s advertisements have certainly succeeded in garnering him additional attention but they have also raised many eyebrows – not least because the dark colours used in his posters make them hard to decipher while the iconic portrait of Yatsenyuk himself lends them a distinctly Orwellian aspect which some have likened to Soviet era personality cults. Other analysts have questioned the wisdom of attempting to brand the candidate simply as ‘Arseniy’, a tactic which has proved hugely successful for the charismatic Yulia Tymoshenko in the past but which is regarded by many as misplaced on a candidate who is as lacking in political stardust as Yatsenyuk. Nevertheless, despite much criticism there can be little doubt that this pre-campaign PR offensive by the Yatsenyuk camp has succeeded in considerably raising the profile of their candidate. Its true effectiveness will only become clear once this initial poster blitz can be viewed within the wider context of his overall campaign, but in light of this innovative and ambitious debut there is every reason to expect plenty more surprises from the Yatsenyuk camp as the election campaign approaches this autumn.

Khaki campaign colours for a front line nation

Yatsenyuk has justified the use of khaki camouflage colouring on his campaign posters by pointing to the military parallels which he sees in the current political and economic state of the nation. “These colours reflect what is really going on in Ukraine today. This is a frontier state where we find ourselves on the brink of economic collapse and political confrontation,” he explained following criticism of the campaign’s militaristic overtones. Other campaign ideas which the Yatsenyuk team has apparently borrowed direct from the army include information points that are designed to look like miniature military field hospitals. Analysts expect that as the campaign unfolds throughout autumn we will see many more militaristic offerings from the Yatsenyuk camp.
Oleh Sibiryakov of the Ledokol Dnipropetrovsk-based design studio views the use of militaristic imagery as a dangerous flirtation with the authoritarian urge that many citizens in Ukraine are currently voicing. The democratization of the past five years has been accompanied by political chaos and the advent of the global economic downturn in Ukraine has led to a growing chorus for strong and decisive leadership that poses a direct threat to the country’s democratic development. In a political climate as fragile as this, Sibiryakov argues, the use of military imagery is a major cause for concern. “These posters are enough to puzzle any voter. There is something militaristic about them. Some people have even detected a fascist theme. This military feel suggests resolution, firmness and confidence. A lot of Ukrainians today are crying out for a strong leader who can take the country in hand. Many would even accept a dictatorship if only it meant an improvement in their everyday lives, and this makes such campaign images particularly troubling,” he reasons, before adding that from a design point of view the posters have been very impressive. “The graphic images that have been employed are extremely cool. The result is both brave and unusual – it is clear that top professionals have been involved in the design process. They are clearly taking a big risk with their choice of campaign, but it certainly suggests that the rest of their advertising materials will be equally interesting.” 
Marketing specialist Andriy Fedoriv of United Communications Group has been impressed by the originality of the Yatsenyuk campaign so far, but is unconvinced that attempts to brand the candidate as ‘Arseniy’ will bare fruit. “The khaki colour has always been something that is almost exclusively associated with the military, so it is a great idea to use it in outdoor advertising as it is both original and allows the campaign to merge with the environment. The result is something akin to a secret advertising campaign, but there is also the danger that it will generate a sense of militancy around Yatsenyuk’s candidacy. I have more reservations regarding the use of the ‘Arseniy’ brand – personally I find the idea of President Arseniy a little strange. It sounds like something I would more readily associate with a consumer product such as Arseniy Aftershave,” he argues.  

A candidate for change or more of the same?

The youthful Yatsenyuk has been championed by his support base as a candidate who can bring change to the discredited Ukrainian political arena. But some analysts have been disappointed that despite its original design, these early campaign materials have followed the tried and tested formula of using portraits and slogans as electoral focuses. “I do not see anything in these posters which would make me believe in Yatsenyuk’s claims to be somehow new or different to all the other candidates. There is nothing uplifting or inspirational about the adverts. In terms of their ability to attract attention, these posters have been a failure both in terms of their design and their message,” comments Svitlana Kononchuk of the Ukrainian Centre for Independent Political Research.
Such negative assessments have been commonplace throughout the Ukrainian media in recent weeks but it is clearly far too early to write off Mr. Yatsenyuk’s chances at this stage of the pre-campaign. Political analyst Oleksiy Holobutskiy of Kyiv’s Modeling Situation Agency points out that there may yet be further surprises from the Yatsenyuk campaign which will shed this surprising initial series of posters in a new and more favourable light. “Billboards are always the auxiliary tools of any campaign and it could well be that later on in the campaign we will see the Yatsenyuk camp switch to brighter and more attractive advertising. At this stage it is hard to imagine what was meant by these initial posters because it is clear that both the portrait and the colours used create a negative impression. It could be that their initial aim was to stand out from the standard campaign posters which have dominated Ukrainian election campaigns in recent years. By its very poorness this poster campaign certainly succeeds in standing out from the typically bright posters most Ukrainian politicians continue to favour,” he points out, adding that Yatsenyuk’s key target groups do not belong to the type of demographics likely to be swayed by clever advertising tricks. “Yatsenyuk is counting on the support of people with national democratic views and as a rule they will make their decisions based on policy. He is basically counting on winning the support of disillusioned former Yushchenko voters.”

Cheap billboards forcing campaign costs down

Holobutskiy also points out that the early Yatsenyuk campaign may be at least partially a response to the collapse in the outdoor advertising market, which as forced prices down to record lows and made nationwide advertising affordable. “Every inch of every city will be covered with these billboards within a month,” he predicts. “The drop in prices for outdoor advertisement can be seen in the number of personal Happy Birthday congratulations that have begun appearing on billboards across Ukraine in recent months and the political classes will be the next to take advantage of the reduced prices.  Yatsenyuk is simply one of the first. The fact that he has managed to generate some sort of debate around his initial campaign is already a good result in itself.”