Why Labour's 'Stupid' Stone is so clever

My, how everyone laughed when we heard about Labour's Pledge Stone. My, how clever it looks now.

'Well it's got everyone talking.' shrugged Ed Miliband this morning, as if that was a useful side effect. Of course that was the intended effect; everyone talking, laughing, ridiculing and, crucially, photo-shopping. The Stone was made to be easily parodied.

• Ed Miliband: General Election is 'not clash of two nations'

• Plaid Cymru leader accuses Ed Miliband of 'arrogance'

• Nick Clegg: Britons face 'stark choice' on Thursday

But what do punters do when they've looked at all the parodies? They take a quick look at what the original image was. Message delivered, thank you very much.

Parodies have been awash on the internet:

And what has made it all the sweeter for Labour was how it was their opponents who lead the way with the parodies. Even Conservative Central Office did one.

Getting the enemy to deliver your message? Pretty smart for a lump of rock.