While most candidates for the nine-in-one elections tomorrow have mainly relied on traditional methods, such as canvassing votes, to attract support, some have come up with more creative tactics in their bid to draw voters.
Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who is running for re-election, has declined most campaign promotionals, saying the focus should be on his administration policies.
However, his main rival, Huang Hsiu-shuang (黃秀霜), of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), who is lagging far behind the popular mayor, has sought to draw voters’ attention by distributing face masks — to push her message of “a change of image” for the city if she were elected.
Huang’s campaign team also toyed with the idea of distributing hand cream, but dropped it later because of cost concerns.
Taitung mayoral candidates Chang Kuo-chou (張國洲) of the KMT and Lai Kun-cheng (賴坤成) of the DPP usually hit the streets to meet and greet voters. However, Lai has added a creative touch to his campaign by making small figurines and cartoon stickers in his image that he distributes when canvassing for votes.
The products have been well-received by children, he said, adding that he hoped they would encourage parents to give him their support.
In Taipei, KMT city councilor candidate Huang Tzu-che (黃子哲) asked well-known illustrator Cathy Chen (陳玟秀) to design coffee mugs and badges to “enliven” his campaign office, he said.
Some candidates also use their campaign products to highlight issues that they care about.
Aside from distributing small items such as folders and stickers featuring cartoon illustrations of himself, independent Taipei City councilor candidate Hsu Shih-shun (徐世勳) also gives out balloons printed with messages such as “Smile often, be polite,” or featuring himself in a Sherlock Holmes outfit with the message: “I will watch over food safety.”
Hsu said that the ideas for the stickers and cartoon illustrations came from his supporters in the cultural and creative industries. The items were mostly given to children, in line with his policy of encouraging more politeness, respect and character education for young people.
“If the stickers lead children to start saying good things and being more polite, it would perhaps make their parents smile and more willing to support the candidate,” Hsu’s office said.
Greater Tainan councilor candidate Chen Chin-chung (陳金鐘) of the DPP gives out anti-pollution masks, while his fellow DPP candidate Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) gives out fans with LED lights that flash the message “Support Kuo” in English.
Chen Chang-hui (陳昌輝) of the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) distributes workbooks in elementary schools, while independent candidate Lin Chih-chan (林志展) hands out yellow duck-themed stationery items, and DPP candidate Tsai Wang-chuan (蔡旺詮) distributes music DVDs of his campaign theme. All three are running for Tainan councilor positions.
Their KMT counterparts, Hsu Chih-chuang (許至樁) and Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介), have chosen more traditional methods, distributing packets of tissues with their election number and their profile on the cover, and hand fans.
According to a senior aide in the DPP camp, younger candidates tend to be more creative while the more senior ones adopt a more conservative and traditional approach.
“Promotional materials may be useful in leaving an impression of the candidate in the voters’ minds, but they are by no means a guarantee for obtaining votes,” the aide said.
The bottom line is, candidates have to come up with sound and promising policies to gain the public’s favor, the aide said.
Additional reporting by Huang Ming-tang and You Pei-ju
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