The '99', the combination of a whipped ice cream and a Cadbury's flake, conjures up images of warmth and sunshine. It is also reassuringly soothing, making us feel good. The words conjure up images which in turn lead to positive feelings. The political parties have been working hard to create associations like these over the past few weeks.

Brown and Cameron have put their wives, Sarah and Samantha, centre stage in an attempt to soften their images and, to round them out as people. Old Etonian Cameron, well aware of his posh boy persona, has been seen at breweries and bakeries. The message is quite clear: "I drink beer and eat sliced white bread. I'm just like you". In all of these locations he is always only slightly elevated above the crowd and invariably in shirt sleeves. "I'm a worker, I am one of you" he is saying.

Brown on the other hand launched the Labour manifesto in a yet to be opened hospital - or in other words "We are investing to improve your lives". The PM is the only party leader who completely eschews casual wear - he is always seen with a suit, the only concession he makes to relaxing it to take his tie off. The message: "This is a serious job and I never stop working for you".

To date, the exception to this has been Nick Clegg. He could be called a toff himself (he went to Westminster School), but the fact that he isn't viewed in that way is because of the power of association with the Liberal Democrats. His wife, Miriam, has tried to keep out of the fray as much as possible and the relationship that the Lib Dems have concentrated on is that of Clegg and Vince Cable - not a glamorous pairing but politically a very important one. The message "I am different".

As the campaign intensifies we will see much more of this association by image, but each party leader is trying to achieve something different which is critical given that the public perceive their policies difficult to differentiate, namely:

Brown - Man of Substance, building on a public perception

Cameron - Man of the People - trying to overcome a popular perception

Clegg - the New Man - trying to forge an identity, establish a perception.

Whether this works or not really depends on whether we, the electorate, see this as authentic or merely superficial.

Photos courtesy of Flickr.com and Ulleskelf, Conservative Party, Downing Street & Nick Clegg photo stream.