What can we learn from the French Presidential Election posters?

14 min readApr 21, 2017

*This year, eleven candidates are competing to become France’s next president.*

In only two days (or less depending on when you are reading this article), French people will head to their local polling stations and vote for the first round of the 2017 French Presidential Election.

This year, eleven candidates are competing for the iron throne and as a French citizen, I must admit that so far, this campaign has been full of surprises. Almost every candidate has been in some sort of scandal, and no one knows who will be the two candidates going to the next and final round.

*This presidential campaign reminds me of the Hunger Games. Everyone is for himself and even within the same party, people disagree and betray their leaders.*

As a marketer and designer, I thought it could be interesting to analyze the candidates’ posters and see if the best (according to recent voting intentions) candidates have the best posters. My goal isn’t to lecture you on each program or worse, to tell you, who you should rally for (it wouldn’t be very useful unless if you are a French citizen). No, my goal is to share with you what we can learn from the candidates through their campaign posters. Do the pictures convey well the messages that the candidates advocate? Are there some discrepancies between the two? Without knowing anything about their programs, can we guess for what they stand for?

Please note that I chose not to share any poll statistics and to randomly place the posters in the article to avoid bias.

Okay, let’s start!

Benoit Hamon

The portrait
His portrait has been shot in a studio which means that it is very easy for his staff to use his picture again and again for many different situations. Benoit (yes, I like to call them by their first names) looks very friendly and authentic. He is even leaning a bit on his right (left for us) to show a laid-back attitude and to remind us that he is a left-wing candidate. He also chose to wear a suit and tie to remind us that he is serious and knows how to look presidential.

The colors
A bit of blue (with the suit), some red and green to add colors to this otherwise very neutral poster. Red shows that he represents the socialist party and the green that he has the support from the ecologists.

The typography and layout
The font family is a round sans-serif which suggests that he is modern and looks toward the future. Benoit is also the only candidate with a hashtag and various social media icons on his poster. I did not check his Snapchat account but clearly, he wants to appeal to young voters. The only downside of the copy’s layout is that it really looks Monoprix packaging (eggs, flower, and so on…).

Is Benoit no better than an FMCG product?

Does the poster fit with the candidate’s character and ideas?
There is not a lot of information on the poster and this is good. Benoit wants a France where social equality and ecology are the main priorities. He is a calm person that speaks in a friendly yet presidential way and this poster does a decent job at showing this. However, it might sound like he is a normal president and this is not very good since our current and infamous President bet on his “normal appearance” during the previous election.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon

The portrait
I must admit, this is a great portrait. Jean-Luc looks straight at you and tells you that it will be okay, that he knows what he is doing. Wisdom and freedom emanate from this portrait which doesn’t match with the Jean-Luc French people used to know. Indeed, he is well known for his anger and temper issues. The background is also interesting because it does not show the classic French countryside and bright blue sky that many candidates use. On this picture, Jean-Luc almost looks like a boat captain taking French people across high-seas. He also decided to wear clothes less formal than usual, to look more approachable.

The colors
The mood of the picture with all its shades of blue, suggest that either a storm is approaching or that it just left (depending on if you see the glass half full or half empty). Jean-Luc used to be a communist and always had a lot of red on his leaflets and posters but this year, there is almost no red. He only kept the red for his new logo.

The typography and layout
A nice round sans-serif font that suggests just like for Benoit that he is modern and looks toward the future.

Does the poster fit with the candidate’s character and ideas?
This year, Jean-Luc totally reinvented himself and wants to be perceived as someone wise and disruptive. He is the candidate that changed the most from the previous presidential election. His staff worked hard at making him more approachable and calmer and this year’s poster is a proof of their good work. Just as a comparison, look at his 2012 presidential poster.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan

The portrait
A very classic political portrait. There is really not much to say except may be that he is a bit too close to us. He is wearing a navy-blue suit to remind people that he is a right-wing candidate. The background of the poster shows exactly what I wrote previously, French fields and a blue sky.

The colors
The tone is clearly blue which suggests one more time his political orientation.

The typography and layout
A round sans-serif font displayed in italic for the motto to suggest movement and that he is the man of the change. What is quite unique though, is how his name is at the same time centered but not centered. Nicolas likes to be against the system.

Does the poster fit with the candidate’s character and ideas?
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan created his own right-wing party a few years ago and is trying to become the French president for the second time. He is very polite and looks rather serious when he speaks. In my opinion, the poster really fits with Nicolas’ character, it looks professional but also empty.

Philippe Poutou

The portrait
Clearly the idea of this portrait is to show how authentic Philippe is. This picture looks like it was taken during a meeting or a demonstration (he loves to be in the streets and to take part in strikes). He is not looking at the camera and half of his face is too dark but at least he looks authentic.

The colors
When most of the candidates are into blue, Philippe is into red. The poster is so red that it looks like an old soviet poster. It is also one of the only posters with the party’s logo on it.

The typography and layout
Philippe is a factory worker at Ford and his mission is to fight against capitalism and to protect his fellow workers. He chose a font that is quite uncommon, it’s slightly round, squared and looks worn out, just like a factory worker (don’t take it the wrong way). In my opinion, it is a pretty good choice for a candidate like him.

Does the poster fit with the candidate’s character and ideas?
When you first look at this poster, you might think that it is poorly designed. The portrait, the red and the font seems out of place for a presidential candidate but if we think a bit more, we realize that this style totally fits with the candidate’s ideas. He wants to be perceived as authentic and as the candidate without any filters.

François Fillon

The portrait
François is a traditional man and this portrait proves it. He is wearing an elegant navy-blue suit and unlike Benoit Hamon, he is leaning to the left (right for us) to remind us that he is a right-wing candidate. The blurry background brings a bit of color and depth to the portrait. Additionally, something to notice is that, no matter which angle you look at him, it feels as if he is looking straight back at you.

The colors
Except the blue of his suit, there are no predominant colors. However, the overall picture is warm and leaves us with a pleasant feeling of trust and confidence.

The typography and layout
A very clean sans-serif font that just like for the other candidates suggests that François is looking towards the future. How the copy is placed reminds me of a movie or a book cover. “Une volonté pour la France” (A will for France) written or directed by François Fillon.

Does the poster fit with the candidate’s character and ideas?
At the beginning of the campaign, François was one of if not the strongest candidates but he lost a lot of power when some newspapers revealed some scandals involving him and public money. Nevertheless, François did not quit and little by little seems to come back. The poster tries to depict a calm and confident candidate that nothing can hurt.

Jacques Cheminade

The portrait
It looks like Jacques was on his way to a very serious and important meeting when the shot was taken. He looks serious and professional but the background looks very depressing. He is wearing a blue and black suit to fit with the other candidates. Also, why did they choose to cut the top of his head?

The colors
Jacques Cheminade is not really a left-wing candidate, so I guess red was not his favorite color. He chose a light orange and went on with it.

The typography and layout
Jacques is the oldest candidate but that doesn’t stop him from choosing a serif font that looks and feels modern. However, his motto takes way too much space on the poster and leaves us an impression of suffocation.

Does the poster fit with the candidate’s character and ideas?
I don’t know Jacques’ program well, but through this poster, I can get a glance at his most important idea “To free ourselves from the financial occupation” and it is something useful for a candidate that is still unknown by many French people.

Marine Le Pen

The portrait
Marine, just like Benoit, did her portrait in a studio and prefers neutral/passive backgrounds. Her eyes are too much retouched but otherwise she looks very professional and yet casual (look at her shiny top).

The colors
Marine has not a lot of choices for colors. Her first name literally is a specific shade of blue (dark blue). The poster has dark blue/grey tones and therefore feels not very real nor optimistic. It feels like Marine is the only one that can bring light to this dark world.

The typography and layout
Like the other candidates, she uses a sans-serif font for her motto but she added an interesting text block “in 5 years” to show that she is a woman of action. She also put the logo of her campaign which is a blue rose (a symbol of femininity to highlight that she is one of the only women running for president and also the symbol of the socialist party) with a font that seems almost revolutionary. It is also important to note that she doesn’t use her last name on the poster because of the bad connotation that it has in France. Her dad, Jean-Marie Le Pen created the party that she is in (the logo is not on the poster) and is famous for his holocaust denials and racial outbursts.

Does the poster fit with the candidate’s character and ideas?
Without Marine, her party, the Front National would be way weaker and that is why she even has a specific campaign logo. This poster however does not fit with her behavior during her meetings and interviews. She is a very loud and aggressive person and this poster tries to draw someone that is approachable and soft-spoken.

François Asselineau

The portrait
His portrait has been shot in a studio and has been retouched quite a bit. His face looks way softer and younger than on other photos and the background looks fake. It’s a bit sad because François wants to be perceived as an authentic and no filter type of candidate.

The colors
It is one of the brightest and most colorful posters out there. However, the background is too bright and almost feels unreal. It just does not feel right.

The typography and layout
François is a simple man and likes to keep it like this. He chose just like all the other candidates a sans-serif font but decided not to write his first name on the poster. Is he afraid to be confused with the other François (Fillon)? He also goes straight to the point with his copy “President Asselineau — An historic choice”.

Does the poster fit with the candidate’s character and ideas?
François Asselineau is the candidate for the Frexit. He believes that if France wants to become powerful again, it needs to drop the € and get out of the EU. In my opinion, he is the candidate that represents the French austerity and his poster does not convey well this positioning.

Emmanuel Macron

The portrait
It is by far the most creative portrait across all candidates. Emmanuel or Manu as I like to call him looks straight forward but not directly at the camera. He is looking past that, he is looking at the future. His portrait also only takes 2/3 of the poster and looks very professional. Contrary to the other candidates, we can see in the background people of different genders and ethnicities walking behind him. He is the only candidate showing other people on his poster.

The colors
The colors are bright and therefore create quite an optimistic vibe, it also looks like the picture was taken yesterday in the street, it seems very real. Manu is also wearing a navy-blue suit to appeal to right-wing voters.

The typography and layout
His poster looks like a book cover with this light-blue section that takes 1/3 of the space. It makes me feel that his program must be rich and well developed because of the book aspect of this poster.

Does the poster fit with the candidate’s character and ideas?
In my opinion, this is the best candidate poster this year. Manu is a candidate that created his own party less than a year ago and with his motto “En marche!” (On the move!), he doesn’t really fit into the political spectrum. This lack of traditional positioning may even be one of its appeals. His poster fits well with this definition. He is the youngest candidate and has decided to do things differently.

Nathalie Arthaud

The portrait
Nathalie represents the communist party, which means that ideas are more important than individuals. Her portrait takes roughly ¼ of the poster and has nothing unique. It is a well shot portrait of her outside.

The colors
Of course, a lot of red but at least she avoided the full red poster (huh Philippe?). There is a bit of yellow to create a contrast and to lighten things up.

The typography and layout
Where to even start? There is text everywhere. It is not a poster but a tract. I can’t believe that she thinks people will take the time to stop their cars, walk to the poster and then read for 10 minutes with the help of a magnifying glass the key elements of her program. However, she chose a decent sans-serif font that works well with small and big characters.

Does the poster fit with the candidate’s ideas?
Nathalie Arthaud is part of the communist party (you can see the communist logo on the bottom right) and she has many things to say. This poster really fits with her character. When she is doing interviews, she never stops speaking, even when the journalists are trying to bounce on what she says. She likes to over deliver information to her audience and if she cannot do it verbally, she will find other ways.

Jean Lassalle

The portrait
Jean is the type of big guys that doesn’t scare you. Come on! Look at him, doesn’t he look like a sweet guy? Nevertheless, what is this picture? The portrait has clearly been taken in a studio but why he is looking in such a strange direction. If he is supposed to look at the future, I am not sure it is working.

The colors
This poster is very depressing. The grey of the background takes over the whole picture and does not convey the right emotions. Grey is not a color that makes you feel joy or excitement.

The typography and layout
Just like all the other candidates, Jean chose a sans-serif font to share his ideas but the layout is not working well. His name has almost no white space around it and it makes it not important. Then, you can find all the way down, his motto in very small characters. There is no connection between his name and his motto which is by the way very easy to miss out.

Does the poster fit with the candidate’s character and ideas?
Jean Lassalle is a very interesting person. He is almost unknown to most French people but he has his ideas and has a lot of experience hearing and answering to the French people’s concerns. As an independent member of the National Assembly, Jean is known for a hunger strike in protest at a paint manufacturer’s decision to open a factory away from his own constituency, threatening local jobs. However, his poster is just like his campaign, it’s all over the place and lacks too many things to be good. Jean will have to work more before he is ready to play with the big boys.

So, what can we make out of all these posters? First, red and blue and are the two main colors of this presidential election. Left-wing candidates tend to use red and right-wing candidates to use blue which makes sense (duh!). However, most candidates no matter their political orientation chose to wear a navy-blue suit which is usually associated to right-wing candidates. Second, the quality of the posters seems to go up with the budget that the candidates have at their disposal (this is very surprising, right?)

Finally, if we look at the two-previous winning presidential election posters, it seems like François Fillon, François Asselineau and Nicolas Dupont-Aignan have good chances to become France’s next president. What do you think? Did you see other things in these posters?