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NDP, Greens turn to pop culture to woo voters online

Deep into Canada's longest election campaign, the NDP and the Green Party are using pop culture references on social media to build an image for their leaders and attract support.

The NDP likens leader Tom Mulcair to Dos Equis man, while Greens turn to N' Sync song

Haydn Watters · CBC News ·
The NDP tweeted a photo of leader Tom Mulcair mimicking the character portrayed in ads for Dos Equis beer. (Sneaky Snake/Twitter/George Smith/Twitter)

Deep into Canada's longest election campaign, the NDP and the Green Party are using pop culture references on social media to build an image for their leaders and attract support.

Two notable examples drew a lot of online response in recent days.

The NDP tweeted a photo on Friday that likened party leader Tom Mulcair to "The Most Interesting Man In The World," the older man in Dos Equis beer ads. The photo shows a well-dressed Mulcair cocking his head sideways and posing with a bottle of Dos Equis, a nod to the original ad.

It was posted to Twitter by George Smith, Mulcair's press secretary, and was retweeted on the leader's personal account and the main party account, giving Twitter users many chances to weigh in.

Almost instantly, users posted their own takes on the ad's infamous tag line.

The Dos Equis ad has spawned countless memes. One Twitter account has devoted itself to meme-ing Mulcair's take on it.

Others used it to make swipes at his choice of beverage.

Like it says on the bottle, Dos Equis comes from Mexico. In the Mulcair photo, it should be noted that the beer cap is still affixed to the bottle.

There were a few mentions of Old Stock, a nod to Conservative Leader Stephen Harper's somewhat confusing choice of words during Thursday night's economic debate.

The Mulcair-Dos Equis guy comparison isn't new.

The suggestion has been made online for several years. It was referred to in an analysis piece on Mulcair in the Ottawa Citizen. But it is one of the first times (if not the first time) that Mulcair has drawn on the comparison himself and promoted it on social media.

Twitter users have been likening the two men since as early as 2012.

A Twitter account that started in July exists solely to draw Mulcair-Dos Equis comparisons.

The Green Party opted for Justin Timberlake and his former boy band, 'N Sync.

In the lead up to leader Elizabeth May's virtual Twitter video appearance during Thursday night's debate, the Green Party's Facebook and Twitter accounts promoted the event using photos of Timberlake and the 'N Sync crew with the tag line It's Gonna Be May.

And that seemed to really confuse some people …

It's a reference to 'N Sync's song, It's Gonna Be Me. Since the song was released in 2000, many have misinterpreted the lyrics of the song to say "it's gonna be may." The misinterpretation has been widely parodied in online memes, photos and GIFs — and now as a promotional tool for the Green Party.

… and others just really seemed to like it.

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