Catalanist bald-head strategy

I noticed that one road near our house has posters for CiU (conservative Catalan nationalists) on one side of the street and ERC (left-wing republican Catalan nationalists) on the other.

Both candidates, Josep Duran i Lleida of CiU and Joan Ridao of ERC have a degree of baldness (Duran i Lleida) more so, but the designers of the electoral posters decided to approach this in different ways. CiU crops Duran i Lleida’s head, so although you probably already know what he looks like, you still only have the suggestion of baldness. ERC, meanwhile, chose to employ a passport-photograph style format, repeating the bottom of the main photo in a frame above and the top in a frame below, thus offering us two chances to look at Ridao’s head.

CiU versus ERC

To me, there’s no doubt that CiU had the better design on this poster. Even if you don’t care about the bald thing, it’s clear the CiU went for a bolder, stronger picture, while ERC have employed a device (the passport-photo idea) which, apart from anything else, reduces the size of Ridao’s head on the poster itself.

What do you think? Is the baldness even remotely relevant? Do you think it could affect your decision of who to vote for?

Original photos:

 

March 5, 2008 | Filed Under Posters, Carteles, Cartells 

Comments

3 Responses to “Catalanist bald-head strategy”

  1. SyS - political posters and baldness: you decide | thebadrash.com on March 5th, 2008 9:28 am

    […] also added a post comparing electoral posters for Josep Duran i Lleida and Joan Ridao, two bald Catalan nationalists with different strategies. […]

  2. Rhys on March 5th, 2008 12:31 pm

    I can’t believe you’re being so boldist!

    As a proud baldie, I think both look great ;-)

    I don’t think that cutting the tip of his head off looks that good, it makes it look like a boiled egg that someone has just started tucking into. The passport photo idea is an interesting one, I’m guessing it’s to make a very normal looking guy look even more down to earth - would that be consitent with his personality? One thing about UK politicians is they don’t (yet) seem to go in for the celebrity image that I gather a lot of politicians in other Europen countries go for. Could Ridao be trying to get away from this, to emphasize he’s different?

  3. Tom on March 5th, 2008 12:54 pm

    I knew I’d stir up a bald hornet’s nest with this post ;-)

    Interestingly, Duran i Lleida has 2 photos on display (check my Flickr by clicking one of the images above): one stern (the one I used for this post) and one smiling… quite a clever move, I thought.

    Another thought: maybe Ridao is implanting the concept of passport=nationality=identity=let’s get Catalan passports… or something.

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