Labour's ad funding on a par with Lotto and Harvey Norman

When political parties' election ads start to run on TV and radio, the Labour Party's airtime buying power may put it in the same league as Lotto and Harvey Norman.

But Electoral Commission funding for the minor parties' broadcast advertising ranks them alongside anti-dandruff shampoo and energy bar brands, according to Mediacom (NZ) Ltd.

The advertising buying and planning company says the $1.1 million allocated to Labour would have qualified it as fifth-biggest TV and radio advertising spender in September last year (just behind Lotto and New World Supermarkets, ahead of Family Health Diary and Harvey Norman).

National's $900,000 would see it ranked 13th, around the same level as ANZ Bank and Rebel Sport.

But the $200,000 allocated to ACT, the Greens, NZ First and United Future meant that more than 200 other advertisers would be spending more than them on radio and TV in the month leading up to the September 17 election.

Mediacom's latest Marketing Digest newsletter says the Maori Party's $125,000 "is enough to help the organisation narrowly outperform the Kellogg's Nutri-Grain Bar and clock in at Number 345".

While Electoral Commission funding for political advertising had increased 55 per cent over the past 10 years, television advertising ratecards had increased 92 per cent.

Parties can start advertising on TV and radio from writ day, August 17.

They are not allowed to buy their own airtime, but Mediacom suggests that democracy might be better served by allowing parties to buy extra airtime up to a mandated limit.

- NZPA