The internet is never kind to politicians but, when you are a prime minister on an aggressive pre-election tour, with a folksy “daggy dad” media strategy and a bus with your face on it, it becomes ruthless.

Add in the existence of Photoshop and an over-reliance on the phrase “fair dinkum”, and you have a viral recipe for ridicule.

So it was for Scott Morrison on day one of his trip through marginal seats in Queensland.

First came the bus, launched on Sunday, painted in a pure sky blue that made it an easy target for image manipulation.

While it promised “A stronger economy [and] a secure future”, this was too easily scrubbed off and replaced by critics – who also mocked the debut of a new signature that simply read “Scomo”.

thinking of slapping my face and political slogans on a bus, the vehicle that never breaks down in a damning visual metaphor. — Colley (@JamColley) November 4, 2018

Scott Morrison coming to Queensland to be tarred, feathered

And thrown under his own bus.#QldPol #auspol



Image via @gcLaborista pic.twitter.com/mqlBnm0LDF — Jim Pembroke (@Jim_Pembroke) November 4, 2018

Scott Morrison has had three signatures in three years. pic.twitter.com/IfotyR9lzU — rob harris (@rharris334) November 4, 2018

Then came the hat.

Morrison’s awkward new persona was roundly mocked on Monday after he published a video thanking the mother of the Australian surfer Mick Fanning for giving him a new hat.

Standing on a beach in a business shirt, Morrison thanked Elizabeth Osborne in a speech that many said was stuffed chock full of too many supposedly true-blue slang terms.

“G’day, Elizabeth, Mick Fanning’s mum,” he said. “We’re here at the Gold Coast down at Broadbeach and yeah, fair dinkum, we should be supporting Australian businesses, so great to have the Rip Curl hat.”

Since he became prime minister in August, Morrison has sported a wide variety of surfing caps and other hats. A previous hat he wore was made by the brand Hurley, which is US-owned. Rip Curl is an Australian company that sponsors Fanning.

But commentators quickly derided the video. The comedian and ABC host Charlie Pickering tweeted: “If I hear him say [fair dinkum] again I will fair dinkum throw up.”

I really think ScoMo needs to say 'fair dinkum' more. Not sure it's cutting through. Maybe work it into phrases, like 'If I hear him say it again I will fair dinkum throw up'. — Charlie Pickering (@charliepick) November 5, 2018

yea too bloody right mate fair dinkum cheers to me cobber mick’s mum for the hat crikey struth it’s the vibe mate onya https://t.co/SsBVKBBMjw — Jennine Khalik (@jennineak) November 5, 2018

I would love to see the results of the focus group that found "repeated thumbs up", "novelty caps" and "saying fair dinkum" were PR winners https://t.co/CplQ1brng0 — Josh Butler (@JoshButler) November 5, 2018

It’s hard to believe that @ScottMorrisonMP was in charge of the biggest marketing failure in Tourism Australia history, because these videos are superb and I hope he keeps doing them https://t.co/TLMQlU5SO7 — Dee Madigan (@deemadigan) November 5, 2018

"Queensland police have warned people not to approach the unstable man, who is said to believe he is the prime minister." https://t.co/fNngSMdDcH — Neil McMahon (@NeilMcMahon) November 5, 2018

Others also pointed out a scandal in 2016 where Rip Curl was found to be using slave labour in North Korea to create its products.

Many observed that the prime minister’s awkward, low-quality video style was a conscious political choice by his media team. Morrison has previously tweeted praise for a parody by the ABC’s 7.30 that suggested they were supposed to “look like fucking shit”.