From Dancing Cossacks to Eminem Esque, here’s a rundown of memorable NZ political party campaign ads over the decades.
1972: It’s time
‘It’s time’ was the Labour Party’s campaign for the 1972 general election. It ran on TV, billboards, radio and in newspapers with the accompanying slogan: ‘Time for a change, time for Labour.’ The campaign saw Labour take power under leader Norman Kirk, ending National’s 12-year tenure.
AUT’s Amy Errmann says the campaign captured the mood of the nation, which was in recession and facing rising unemployment.
“The campaign manager wrote this note about how ‘It’s time’ became multifaceted in meaning: ‘It’s time for Norman Kirk, it’s time for Labour, it’s time for change, it’s time for more money in your pocket.’ It assumed its voters were smart and would understand this message meant so many things,” says Errmann.
1975: Dancing Cossacks
It’s the most infamous piece of campaign work in the history of political marketing in Aotearoa. The year before the general election, the Labour Government announced a compulsory superannuation scheme, set to begin on April 1, 1975. In response, the National Party, under Robert Muldoon, launched an electoral advertisement on TV, criticising the policy.
Produced by Colenso and animated by American firm Hanna-Barbera (of The Flintsones fame), the ad implied Labour’s policy would turn the country into a communist state. Cartoon characters perform a Cossack-style dance. It ends with the National Party logo and the slogan: “New Zealand. the way YOU want it.”
It heralded a landslide for National and compulsory super was canned. Muldoon was prime minister until 1984, when Labour’s David Lange won following a snap election.
2014: Eminem Esque
In 2014, the National Party used “strains” of rapper Eminem’s song Lose Yourself in an electoral ad. Eminem sued the party for copyright infringement. While National denied the allegation, the court ruled in Eminem’s favour in 2017, ordering the party to pay $600,000 in damages. The following year, National successfully appealed the decision and had the amount reduced to $225,000.
2017: Let’s do this
AUT’s Geoffrey Craig says Labour’s campaign in 2017 was memorable for the way Jacinda Ardern came to the leadership so quickly.
Seven weeks before the election, former party leader Andrew Little resigned. Deputy leader Ardern was voted in unanimously to replace him. The campaign, ‘Let’s do this’ – and the policies – remained the same, the party just had a new face.
“Ardern was able to turn around the party’s political fortunes in such a short period of time. That was quite something to see and it underlined the importance of her particular campaigning skills,” says Craig.
The election results saw a new coalition government form between Labour, New Zealand First and the Green Party.
2020: Chloe Swarbrick for Auckland Central
During the 2020 general election, Green MP Chloe Swarbrick stood for and won the Auckland Central seat, beating out Labour’s Helen White and National’s Emma Mellow.
Swarbrick told Stuff at the time her success shows just how powerful a grassroots campaign can be: “I just hold an immense amount of gratitude for the privilege that people have bestowed upon me to represent them.
“We have pulled together a campaign and achieved things nobody thought was possible.”
Swarbrick was already a campaign veteran, having run for mayor of Auckland in 2016. She came third in a crowded field, with 29,098. At the age of 22, she was the youngest candidate.
This move put her on the map and she joined the Green Party ahead of the 2017 election.
“She did incredibly well as a young woman to win that seat and to hold that seat,” says Convergence’s Erin Jamieson.
2023: This is not our first rodeo
Many had written NZ First off after a poor showing at the 2020 general election. But party leader Winston Peters loves a comeback. He rode again – literally – taking to the campaign trail with a social media video depicting him with a cowboy hat and a horse.
“To govern a country, you need experience. And this is not our first rodeo,” Peters says as he rides off.
The 2023 election resulted in a coalition formed between the National Party, Act and New Zealand First.
This story comes from NZ Marketing magazine issue 86, March-May 2026. Why not subscribe? Get four issues a year for just $50 (including delivery) if you autorenew.
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