Labour's local election campaign launch may have been an attempt to 'do politics differently', but could equally be interpreted as a means of keeping Tony Blair and Gordon Brown apart.
Following speculation that the chancellor had been excluded from the event, his attendance became almost compulsory if the stories were to be downplayed.
But by holding the launch in an informal setting, in which senior ministers were having round tables discussions with small groups of activists, Labour found a convenient way of avoiding direct comparisons of the body language of Blair and Brown.
However, almost inevitably, contrasts there still were.
Blair, with his jacket off, seemed to lead the conversation at his table without effort, unlike at the table where the jacketed Brown was seated.
The chancellor did manage a joke about the party's recent financial troubles, asking why he was the only member of his group getting a hot drink. "One coffee between eight," he remarked. "I know we're meant to be economising..."
The prime minister on the other hand had no problem with the arrangement, sending his tea back in exchange for coffee (adding, "don't tell Cherie").
Even on the topic of conversation clear divisions could be found.
Blair stressed the need to tackle anti-social behaviour, even agreeing to "name and shame" any Conservative councils refusing to use new powers.
Meanwhile, at the chancellor's table, Brown was saying that "there is anti-social behaviour that needs to be dealt with", but stressed instead his new deal for communities and providing "things for young people to do".
All the speeches at the event - including Blair, Brown, deputy Labour leader John Prescott, party chairman Ian McCartney and culture secretary Tessa Jowell - emphasised the "partnership" between Labour councils and the Labour government.
But they could just as easily have been talking about the better-known partnership between 10 and 11 Downing Street.
Blair, particularly, praised Brown's record on the economy while Prescott mentioned both men by name.
The deputy prime minister didn't seem too comfortable with the format, modelled on Labour's 'big conversation' and 'let's talk' events, opening his table's deliberations with the words "discussion time - I don't know about that".
But declining to take questions from the media, the cabinet ministers instead retreated to a phone bank at the back of the room to take their messages directly to the voters.
