Tories launch 'Poster Idol'

The Tories today appealed to the public to think up their next election advertising campaign against Labour.

Budding Lord Saatchis are being asked to send in ideas for posters and TV broadcasts in a Pop-Idol-style contest - with the advertising mogul himself acting as a judge.

Winning entries will be plastered on billboards and shown as TV and cinema adverts this summer. The aim is to generate new ideas and whip up interest in the June European and local elections.

Entries, in the form of 30-second film scripts and sketches for posters, can be sent to website letdownbylabour.com. Only ideas which attack the Labour Party will be considered. No money will be paid for entries, even if they are used in the real campaign.

Tory co-chairman Liam Fox, one of the judges, said: "The British people feel greatly let down by Labour and we want to give the public the opportunity to express their disillusionment."

The inspiration for the campaign is Lord Saatchi's "Labour isn't working" poster from the 1979 general election.