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OTTAWA — The headline on the Conservative party’s latest mailout reads “He’s in way over his head,” but what’s drawn around Justin Trudeau’s head could be carrying a powerful subliminal message too.

A swirl of tiny little stars — reminiscent of Tinkerbell’s trail of sparkles — frames the Liberal leader. He’s shown with a goatee, open collar and his jacket slung over his shoulder.

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The flyer produced for Conservative MPs to be sent to constituents contains several negative bullet points about Trudeau that are written in a cursive font, while the points lauding Prime Minister Stephen Harper are in a bolder print font.

The letter “i” in Trudeau’s first name is capped with a star in the Conservative materials — like a pre-teen girl might apply to her name.

So what exactly are the Conservatives getting at here?

“I think there is a subtle attempt not necessarily to question Justin Trudeau’s masculinity but to at least make him appear less masculine,” said David Coletto, a Canadian market researcher and CEO of Abacus Data.