Gruen Nation: August 28

Tonight Gruen Nation guests include Liberal marketer Toby Ralph, former Kevin Rudd media adviser Lachlan Harris and ABC’s very own Annabel Crabb.

In tonight’s show, among many other things, we ask whether Anthony Albanese might be a Liberal double agent. We find out who really came up with the Tony Abbott plane window photo. We journey to Brazil, home of the world’s most flamboyant candidates, including a clown who found himself in parliament. We stare in open-mouthed disbelief at the Wikileaks ad and Julian Assange’s karaoke. And we bring you a Malaysian election commercial that makes Julian Assange look good.

Gruen Nation host Wil Anderson and regulars Todd Sampson and Russel Howcroft again try to disentangle the 24 hour, multi-platform spin tornado that is Election 2013. Joining our advertising gurus is an impressive cast of political insiders and campaign veterans. This week:

· Toby Ralph – Liberal marketing bloke and sometime propagandist;
· Lachlan Harris – former Kevin Rudd media adviser; and
· Annabel Crabb – author and ABC political commentator.

In tonight’s episode, the Gruen team examines:

· You’re Soaking In It … True election fans wait for it every time: the arrival of the new Bob Katter ad. This year’s doesn’t let anyone down. It’s smart, it’s complex, it’s thoughtful and insightful … oh all right, it’s none of those things. It’s a song about a man and his hat. We also look at the messaging of the Greens, and their obsession with photogenic marsupials.
· What Would Poland Do?: What do Poland’s political Jedi do when they want to get a message across? Can’t give you any hints, but tonight’s Polish ad will haunt your dreams…
· The Small Picture: The campaign’s favourite fashion statement, Hi-Vis. Tony Abbott has clearly been told by a stylist that fluoro lime and orange are his colours. Kevin Rudd, on the other hand, always looks a bit like someone playing dress-ups … what’s the value of Hi-Vis?
· The Pitch: Daniel Clark from 303 Lowe versus Steve Coll from Havas Worldwide. The challenge? To create ads about Election 2013’s most colourful candidate, Clive Palmer. To make it fair, we asked one agency to go pro-Palmer and the other anti-Palmer.
· On The Trail: We strap on the blue tie and head out of the office to look at the local candidate, and the ground-level strategies of the two major parties. Includes some of our favourite local ads.

Wednesday, August 28 at 8:30pm on ABC1.