Love Island fans mock Conservative party over anti-Corbyn water bottle

'What fresh hell is this?'

In an attempt to win the youth vote, the Conservative party has decided to capitalise on the popularity of ITV2’s Love Island by launching their very own range of personalised water bottles.

In its fourth series, the popular reality TV show has become famed for many things from the contestant’s buff bodies to niche lexicons like “muggy” and “pie off”.

However, it’s the show’s official water bottles that have really delighted fans. Those used exclusively in the villa are decorated in neon font with each contestant’s name but this year the show allowed viewers to buy their very own from the Love Island app and shop for £15.

Tapping into the nation’s Love Island water bottle obsession, on Monday afternoon Theresa May’s party announced that it too had made its own merchandise inspired by the show and was giving them away as a competition prize. 

In what appeared to be an attempt to accumulate the contact information of potential young voters, the Conservative party launched the competition on its website and Instagram alongside an image of their water bottles which carried the slogan “Don’t let Corbyn mug you off” and hashtags including #FreeMerch, #FinalCountdown and #DontBeAMelt – a lexicon popular among the villa’s contestants to mean “a wimp, soppy person or idiot.”

The announcement read: “Yeah that’s right – we’re giving away Love Island water bottles for the final (obviously).

“Some with a political twist, some not so much. Either way you’re going to be staying hydrated.

“With just a limited number available, winners will be chosen at random. So don’t miss your chance to get yours.”

Within a matter of hours the Conservatives appeared to have removed any references to Love Island from the competition copy on its website and deleted the promotional post it had shared on Instagram Stories.

 

A move which many have rumoured was due to copyright infringement, ITV noted that the Conservative Party changed the wording on their competition and no longer referred to them as Love Island water bottles.

However, it is unclear whether the Conservatives versions were created via the Love Island shop or if they were knock-off merch.

It’s no secret that the Conservatives have struggled to perform well with younger voters in previous elections, however their meagre attempt to revamp the party with a Love Island-themed campaign has seemingly proved a total flop.

In response to the water bottle launch, floods of people shared their disdain with the tone deaf message on social media.

“I remain amused at the Tories repeatedly s*** attempts to connect with young people, I’m not entitled to be paid a living wage and am gonna be in 50 grand debt after uni but OOO funny water bottle,” one person said.

Another added: ““If the Tories want to be relatable they can start with not widening the class divide, not making higher education inaccessible, not making it impossible for us to buy houses, not slashing the NHS with cuts.”

Meanwhile, Corbyn supporters Momentum said: “Dear Tories, no matter how hard you graft, young people won't want to couple up with you. All the best, Younger voters x.”

Last year, the Conservative party launched its youth campaign “Activate”, which is aimed at 18-25 year olds and claims that its purpose is to rouse enthusiasm for centre-right politics.

However, the launch has not been as successful as the Tories would have hoped.

An ITV spokesperson said: “Official Love Island water bottles are only available via the Love Island app and shop.”