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The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
Lucy Bladen

'Not happy, Andrew!': Barr lookalike revealed in Libs ad

The Canberra Liberals have released an ad following their search for a Chief Minister Andrew Barr lookalike.

The party has riffed on the popular "not happy, Jan" ad from the Yellow Pages, released in 2000.

The Liberals put out an ad last month searching for a lookalike for Mr Barr for a television advertisement.

The lookalike in question bears little resemblance to Mr Barr beyond being bald and also wearing glasses.

The video was quietly uploaded to the Canberra Liberals' YouTube page over the weekend and was posted on social media on Monday.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr and the lookalike for a Liberals advertisement, inset. Pictures by Sitthixay Ditthavong, supplied

It is set in an office with a manager looking over some papers. The fake Mr Barr is sitting on a desk playing solitaire with a red top when the manager starts calling for him.

"Andrew, where's the affordable housing you promised in your budget," she says.

"Andrew?

"Gosh! How many promises has he broken: one, two, three. And where's the stadium?"

"Mr Barr" proceeds to run out of the office as she continues through the list, prompting her to open the window and shout out: "Not happy, Andrew."

The iconic ad from 2000 is also set in an office with an office manager expressing her disappointment with her employee, Jan, for not booking an ad in the upcoming edition of the Yellow Pages.

Compare the pair. Fake Andrew Barr, left, and real Andrew Barr, right. Pictures by Sitthixay Ditthavong, supplied

The phrase "not happy, Jan" became a popular catchphrase.

The ad was also co-opted in a 2004 campaign against former prime minister John Howard. The "not happy, John" campaign was aimed at defeating Mr Howard in his seat of Bennelong.

The Liberals appear to be basing a wider campaign with the catchphrase "not happy, Andrew" with several posts on social media on Monday afternoon.

Mr Barr said the campaign should be about positive ideas and not reviving advertisements from a quarter-of- a-century ago.

"It's a recycled ad from 25 years ago. Not so much a deepfake, but a deep farce," Mr Barr said on Monday.

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