English federal election ads pale to Bloc Quebecois ads

I just caught a Bloc Quebecois TV ad on CBC Radio-Canada (the french CBC channel) and having watched its 60 second ad, I have to admit that the separatist-party's ad has ranked high on my list of most effective ad in this election. Unlike the federal Liberal and Conservative ads, which have focused on attacking each other, the Bloc ads focused on a positive message (albeit a message promoting Quebec nationalism and separatism).

Having watched the ad, I'm less surprised why the Bloc has secured virtually all the federal seats in Quebec. They seem to have effectively caught the hearts of Quebeckers for so long, and if the ad is any indication, I can see how.

From a national unity perspective, I have to wonder if either Stephen Harper or Paul Martin are as effective as being a "national leader" as Gilles Duceppe seems to be for Quebeckers.

Personally, if the Conservative and Liberal ads are any indication, I'd have to say no. The Liberals came close with their initial "30 million reasons to vote Liberal" ads which had a national unity feeling in them. But as soon as the Liberals went negative, the quality of their ads declined significantly.

The swing in the polls towards the Conservatives is, honestly, a surprise. Perhaps voters in Ontario (the Liberal stronghold) are becoming less concerned about the conservative, right-wing agenda of Stephen Harper, or are finally examining how trustworthy the Liberals can be after 12 years in power and a long-line of scandals, most recently the Sponsorship scandal. The most interesting website I've gone to on election results is the Election Prediction Project. For the most part, they've been good at predicting election results, and giving an overall look of which ridings are the ones to watch being too close to call.

We shall see.