Illustration of ballot casting. ( AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati)
The Jakarta election is coming next week and candidates are getting even more eager to get undecided voters to vote for their prefered candidates using ads and social media posts.
One campaign ad stands out these past two days.
A recent ad from candidate Anies Baswedan and Sandiaga Uno is under fire for its content that attacks the two other gubernatorial candidates incumbent Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama and Agus Yudhoyono.
The ad features a girl trying to decide which one out of three guys she would date. The girl is shown talking to her parents about the three guys' positive and negative traits.However, she clearly refers to Agus and Ahok's known weaknesses when talking about the possible boyfriends.
Writer and activist Mohammad Guntur Romly brought up the ad on his Twitter account @GunRomli yesterday.
Iklan norak & tdk cerdas dari Paslon No-3, milih gubenur kayak milih jodoh, sebut2 beda agama lg pic.twitter.com/2OlblMw6Zc
Mohamad Guntur Romli (@GunRomli) February 8, 2017
"The ad is banal and dull, saying that choosing a governor is like choosing a spouse. And it mentions (someone with) differentreligion!" he said.
Guntur was not alone as other Twitter users jumped into the discussion and shared their own comment on the ad. His originaltweet now has gathered almost 3,000 responses.
Twitter user @RudiValinka, a known supporter of Ahok, mentioned Agus' father, Former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. "Look! Your son is being bullied by Anies!" he said.
Pak @SBYudhoyono tolong ditonton, anakmu diBully anies ~> RT @GunRomli: Iklan norak & tdk cerdas dari Paslon No-3 pic.twitter.com/MpKKTTP8nI
Rudi Valinka #HOKI (@kurawa) February 9, 2017
Research analyst @firrywahidquestioned whether this ad has been approved by the candidates using yesterday's much-hyped template of #SayaBertanya.
#SayaBertanya kepada @pandji apakah iklan ini resmi dr tim paslon 3 or at least di-approved oleh Pak Anies? https://t.co/OqXamUTfAA
firry wahid (@firrywahid) February 9, 2017
Stand-up comedian Pandji Pragiwaksono is a known evangelist for Anies and Sandi.
Youth political activist @imanlagi said that the ad is too well-made to be a joke.
Iklan paslon 3 yg bawa2 "beda agama" itu bikinnya niat dan bukan iseng sih.
Iman Sjafei (@imanlagi) February 9, 2017
User@jayimassaid that the ad looks like a commercial of whitening body lotion but with a twist of religion.
Iklan kampanye paslon 3 yg enoh berasa iklan Fair and Lovely terus ditambahin bumbu-bumbu beda agama dikit. :(
Kim Jae Yi (@jayimahs) February 9, 2017
Meanwhile, user @vinarestiani1 said that people should not be offended as the ad is merely an expression of creativity.
@GunRomli wakakaka tenang mas. ini kan cuma mengaspirasikan kreatifitas. kalo ga merasa terpengaruh biasa aja keleus. pic.twitter.com/th1Dtfmave
vina restiani (@vinarestiani1) 8 Februari 2017
There has yet to be any clarification from Anies and Sandi's camp whether this ad is an official ad nor further comments regarding the controversy.
How about you? What's your take on this ad?
(brl/red)
