Political parties address Asda shoppers

Broadcasts posted at asda.com/election2010 aim to pull in votes from Asda mums, with almost half (45%) still undecided about who to vote for.

In the Conservative broadcast, David Cameron meets mum of two Julie from Llandudno in Wales, and talks to her about why she has chosen to vote Tory in the election. Labour leader Gordon Brown visits Asda Colindale and talks to shoppers about the election, as well as talking about how Labour’s policies help support families.

There are also messages from Plaid Cymru and Scottish Labour.

Andy Bond, chief executive of Asda, said: “On behalf of our shoppers I’d like to thank again the party leaders for engaging with our Asda Mums online. They clearly understand the importance of listening to our 18 million customers as they decide how to cast their vote on May 6th.”

Asda mums think that good looks and charisma will not win them over in this election. When asked about important attributes in a potential British Prime Minister, three quarters of them listed morals (77%), ability to handle a crisis (76%) and half of them thought that economic expertise (54%) are the most important characteristics. Charisma (8%) and speaking ability (7%) came low down on the list of attributes and good looks (0%) is the least important of characteristics.

Asda has also invited each of the parties to provide a senior spokesperson to engage in an online webchat with shoppers. Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families and Maria Miller, Shadow Families Minister, have already confirmed that they will participate in the webchats, which will take place in the next fortnight.