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Party leaders given a cheeky makeover for i newspaper's election campaign




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Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been portrayed in full Kiss makeup as part of the i newspaper's satire of UK political leaders in its general election campaign. The print and outdoor ads aim to highlight the newspaper’s concise, quality coverage in the lead-up to the election on 8 June. The portraits, created by Atomic London, associate the leaders with a subject they have become well known for during the election campaign so far.

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Corbyn, whose visage has been doctored to resemble Kiss front man Gene Simmons, features above the tagline: “Labour's manifesto. Were the 70s all that bad?” Theresa May, meanwhile, is pictured in a fox fur stole due to the Conservative party's controversial plans to legalise fox hunting if re-elected to government, while Tim Farron is in a full leather biker outfit after his record on LGBT rights was called into question.

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SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon is also portrayed as The Lone Ranger and UKIP leader Paul Nuttall had been depicted wearing a burqa, however, his portrayal has officially been pulled following the events in Manchester last week.

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Atomic’s joint chief creative partners, Guy Bradbury and Dave Henderson (the latter of whom who joined Atomic in December as an equity partner after leaving MullenLowe London last year) created the ads, which include poster and press executions, including cover wraps on the i. The portraits will also feature prominently at the inaugural Politics Festival in London during 23-25 June, which is sponsored by the Johnston Press-owned newspaper. Pete Mould at Atomic illustrated and designed the ads, while the7stars is handling the media.

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