Newshub Nation: Christopher Luxon's online legwork - the National Party's TikTok tactics explained

From the billboard to the browser, the face of political advertising is changing.   

In New Zealand's 2023 election, one app ruled them all - TikTok.  

"We've never seen an app like TikTok before," said Duncan Greive, founder and managing editor of The Spinoff.  

He said that the pace of TikTok's growth alongside its increased cultural gravity has made it incredibly influential and important amongst young people.   

During the 2023 campaign, the National Party spent hundreds and thousands on advertising on Facebook such as their 'Back on track' campaign, but it was their TikTok content that really cut through.   

Christopher Luxon talked about National's policy while cutting sand on TikTok.
Christopher Luxon talked about National's policy while cutting sand on TikTok. Photo credit: National Party TikTok

National's TikTok channel garnered 17 million video views over the election campaign, nearly ten times Labour's.  

Greive said this "says a lot about the importance of TikTok to our political messaging".  

While we don't yet have demographic information about how different cohorts voted, he said: "It's fair to say that having an excellent TikTok game might have disrupted some of those traditional left, right, young, old paradigms that we understand."

While low-budget videos of Luxon getting dressed might seem silly to some, copywriter Mark Easterbrook said that the awkwardness is intentional.   

This photo was posted to National's Twitter page during the campaign.
This photo was posted to National's Twitter page during the campaign. Photo credit: National Party

"Doing something your opponents might think is cringe or awkward is a technique for injecting yourself into online circles that you're not part of," he said.   

"Your political opponents, or the voters who aren't going to back you, are more likely to share with people and say, 'Oh god, look at this photo', but you're spreading your impression and you're spreading your visibility."  

New mediums for delivery are also changing party messaging.   

Dr Edward Elder, a political marketing teaching fellow at the University of Auckland, said that there is an increasing 'presidential-ization' of New Zealand campaigns.   

He said that there is "a growing importance of the party leaders and especially the major party leaders, to the campaigns themselves".  

Elder has observed an increased focus on the personal side of party leaders which he frames as "their likeability. Do we sort of see ourselves in them?"  

With more personality, marketing inevitably also becomes more pointed.  

"Traditionally in New Zealand, negative communication and advertising has tended to be a bit goofy but it will be interesting to see if that continues on TikTok or if it goes in the direction of US advertising, which is a lot darker," he said.

"We saw that to a certain extent with the CTU advertising which got a lot of coverage because of how negative and darker in tone it was than we normally see in New Zealand."  

The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions had billboards and online advertisements in this style during the election campaign.
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions had billboards and online advertisements in this style during the election campaign. Photo credit: New Zealand Council of Trade Unions

Experts also warn that, as TikTok becomes more prominent, its close ties to the Chinese Communist Party must be scrutinised.   

Greive said, "I don't particularly understand why TikTok isn't taken more seriously in terms of the challenges it represents.  

"You can't confidently say that the app isn't or won't be used for malign reasons by state actors or their proxies."  

Additionally, emerging artificial intelligence technology means that, by the next election, the line between political advertising and misinformation could completely disappear.  

"I think it's essentially inevitable that we will see a profusion of incredibly compelling, incredibly realistic video that distorts or misrepresents public figures, and that the volume and visibility of it, alongside the targeting of communities, will be such that we simply won't know what is and isn't real," said Greive.   

He thinks that the Government will need to respond with a new ministry which he would want to combine broadcasting with the emerging technology space.  

"At the very least, a new minister who looked at the sector more holistically is probably a really good place to start."  

Watch the full video for more.    

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