‘Orange guy’ not relevant to election, says TOP candidate
A late entry to the Mt Roskill electorate race in Auckland says a long-running Electoral Commission marketing campaign is ‘‘emblematic of the broader issues behind voter inertia’’.
The Electoral Commission rolled out the Orange Guy campaign eight years ago to try to appeal to young voters and remind people about enrolling.
The Opportunities Party (TOP) Mt Roskill candidate Clint Ulyatt said he had more than 20 years of advertising experience, including work on the National Party campaign in 2008.
He said the Orange Guy needed more investment to become relevant again.
‘‘Orange Guy is really emblematic of the broader issues behind voter inertia,’’ Ulyatt said.
Things had changed since Orange Guy was first launched.
‘‘A decade is a long time in the digital age, and it’s no surprise that Orange Guy’s relevance has been left behind in a bygone age.’’
Ulyatt said he wanted to play a role in getting people interested in voting, which would include rethinking electorates so they reflected constituents
‘‘People are just not being engaged and informed in the ways they should be.’’
Questions about the orange guy’s relevance were raised in August when 20-year-old Tayla Wright, student of the AUT art and design school, said she didn’t hate the campaign but it didn’t motivate her to vote.
‘‘I feel like the orange man is outdated and doesn’t represent anything,’’ Wright said.
When the Orange Guy first hit screens he was dynamic and engaging but animation had since moved on, Ulyatt said.
Ulyatt was a late addition to the Mt Roskill electorate race, putting his hand up four weeks from the election.
Earlier in the year, there was talk TOP wouldn’t have a candidate in any of the electorates, he said.
‘‘However, we realised that in order to have a voice for the party, we needed more people on the streets and having lived in Three Kings for more than 10 years, I decided to put my hand up.’’
When asked how he rated his chances in Mt Roskill, a tra- ditional Labour stronghold currently held by Michael Wood, Ulyatt said his mission was more to introduce ‘‘fresh thinking’’ to the area, rather than win votes.
‘‘I’m signalling an entry to politics in the area and an intent. It’s about shifting the goalposts.’’