KOTA KINABALU, Sept. 17 -- The campaign and poster war between the defending Warisan Plus coalition and the challenging Gabungan Rakyat Sabah have gone in two distinct directions, with the former pushing state solidarity and the latter hoping to profit from Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's positive approval.

The Warisan Plus campaign struck a chord with users of social media - the modern battleground for support in urban and semi-urban areas - with its stylised imagery that borrowed heavily from former US president Barack Obama's 2008 "Hope" poster for his presidential campaign then.

Shafie's campaign has altered the message for the state election, however, touting "Unity" and multiculturalism in an apparent attempt to draw focus on the heavy...