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The Green Party's New Political Broadcast Is A Fake 1970s Board Game

The party gave BuzzFeed News an advance look at its new party political broadcast.

In recent years the Green party has focused on making videos that get shared online for its party political broadcasts, usually based around the idea of all the other parties being the same.

Previous years' videos include a clip of a boyband singing about how the other parties are all the same and an incredibly viral film featuring small children pretending to be leading politicians.

This year's advert is based around a fake board game called The Race to Number 10. "The game no one wants to play is back," warns the voiceover, with "only two teams to choose from."

In a cheesy throwback to some terrible 1970s daytime TV advert, a whole family gets together to play the game of politics.

"You get your maths completely wrong and risk costing the public millions – advance eleventeen spaces!"

There's different rounds: "You just plastered your bus with a big fat lie – take a bonus turn."

For legal reasons it's worth making clear this does not refer to any particular bus.

In what's probably a first for a party political broadcast, the advert repeatedly features the slogans of rival political parties.

The two teams take it in turn to shout the Conservatives' "Strong and stable leadership" and Labour's "For the many, not the few" at each other.

There's also a bonus Brexit roll of the dice.

"Nice dicing – so close some borders and break up some families! And remember, in this game nobody wins!"

Then suddenly it all goes a bit serious, with a direct message to voters.

"If you feel cheated by the current system, it's time to change the game," says one of the characters. "A vote for the Green party on the 8th of June is a vote for a caring and confident Britain that's fairer for all."

The advert will go out on TV for the first time this evening – but the party's real aim is to go viral.

“If we can make a party broadcast that makes people pay any attention then 90% of the battle’s already won," said Dan Shute of ad agency Creature of London, which makes the Green party's political broadcasts. "Part of our challenge has been about making something that people want to watch."

He said the aim of the advert was to make voters think the party is different: "Standing up and being different is quite powerful. Talking to people in real language marks the Green party out as being different."

A Green spokesperson said the party was serious about contesting this general election, despite standing down candidates in some constituencies to encourage an anti-Tory vote: "There are very clear differences between the Greens and other parties. We're the only ones talking the environment and sustainability, but also presenting a vision of the future for this country, in which everyone has a chance to play their part and to benefit from the wealth that the fifth-largest economy in the world creates."

Earlier this week BuzzFeed News revealed that director Ken Loach has already started working on a party political broadcast for Jeremy Corbyn.

However Shute reckons it's hard to make an upbeat film about the Labour leader and will stick to the Greens: “There are some briefs that I’m not sure even we’d be up for taking on.”