Parties gearing to go negative

It has not taken long for the major parties to go on the attack, rolling out the first of their social media campaign advertising.

The Liberal Party is already postin Labor attack ads on its Facebook page.

Negative campaigning kicked off within minutes of Scott Morrison’s election announcement yesterday, with attack ads rolled out on social media by both major parties.

Analysis by The Australian has found 72 of the 101 ads currently paid for by the Liberal Party’s official Facebook account take aim at Labor, attacking its so-called “taxes” on retirees, housing and cars.

Labor has so far purchased only one negative ad to run on Facebook with the slogan “you can’t trust the Liberals”. The Opposition has instead used the bulk of its significantly smaller campaign of 14 Facebook ads to sell voters on Bill Shorten’s “Fair Go Action Plan”.

“Negative campaigning works,” a Liberal source told The Australian. “This election will be fought online and we’re not afraid to go negative early because we know it will cut through with voters.”

The source said the Liberals’ beefed-up digital team is creating customised Facebook advertising that can be tailored down to granular detail — not just location, demographic, interests or websites a person has visited — but whether you rent or own your own home, had a child or recent credit card purchases. The engagement rate of each ad is analysed to determine what resonates with voters. Results are used to shape the party’s messaging week to week as the campaign chugs along.

One string of Liberal attack ads on Facebook on Monday targets users based on the car they drive and popular vehicle brands they have expressed an interest in.

The attack ad falsely claims Labor will increase the cost of Australia’s most popular vehicles and asks if “your car (is) on Bill’s hit list”. “Shorten’s transport hit list” names seven of the 10 top-selling cars in 2018 including the Toyota Hilux, Mazda 3, Mazda CX-5, Ford Ranger, Hyundai i30, Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan X-Trail.

Toyota said it was not consulted on the Liberals’ car tax campaign and the company is on track to electrify its entire vehicle line up by 2025. Labor has five different Facebook ads to counter the Liberals’ negative messaging, which aim to sell its carbon vehicle target and plan for 50 per cent of all new car sales to be electric by 2030.

“If you’re a fan of Holden you’ll want to know about our plan to save you money,” one Labor ad says. It links to a Nine article with the headline — “Labor’s vehicle carbon tax would save motorists $27.5 billion”.

A Labor campaign source said the party was experimenting with targeted Facebook advertising on niche issues unlikely to win votes from middle Australia, such as a domestic ban on selling ivory and rhino horn, and a national ban on single-use plastic bags.