Charles Kennedy is facing pressure to increase both his own profile and his party's impact on the British political scene.

As the Liberal Democrats gathered for their spring Torquay conference ePolitix offers exclusive advice for the third party leader from Saatchi and Saatchi which tells Kennedy not to "play it safe" and to "lurch wildly to the left".

Kennedy also receives advice from professor of moral philosophy, Gordon Graham, and editor of Tribune, Mark Seddon.

Although Kennedy is struggling to match the stature and profile of his predecessor, Paddy Ashdown, he is popular with the party faithful.

A more serious criticism of his record as party leader is the failure of the Liberal Democrats to capitalise on the electoral collapse of the Conservatives and disillusionment with the government among Labour's core voters.

Kennedy's problem was highlighted by recent opinion polls, with a Gallup poll for the Telegraph last week showing a five per cent drop for the Lib Dems, down to just 12 per cent.

In a recent briefing for the Institute of Ideas some key opinion formers give their tips for how Charles Kennedy and the Liberal Democrats could increase their appeal and relevance to voters.

Saatchi and Saatchi are no strangers to coaching politicians in the electoral dark arts. Craig Mawdsley, a strategic planner at the agency ran the hugely successful "Sunny Delight" fruit drink campaign, advises Kennedy that as he is going to lose anyway "it is time to have some fun at everyone else's expense".

At a time when politicians are playing it safe for the centre ground, Mawdsley warns: "Just please don't play it safe - the middle ground is already taken and you have nothing to gain from being a pale imitation of Tony Blair. Give us a reason to listen to your political broadcasts by throwing in something surprising each time - just for fun. In this way you have the chance to put the interest back into politics and get people engaged again (just to see what you'll come up with next) - don't blow it."

Mawdsley argues that in order to raise his game and interest voters Kennedy should "lurch wildly to the left" and make politics interesting by adopting the "persona of the slightly mad uncle".

"Please make things more interesting for us by being passionately in favour of the single currency, nationalisation of the railways and redistributive taxes. You need to appeal to the British tolerance of the eccentric by tossing in the odd policy like the legalisation of marijuana. You can adopt the persona of the slightly mad uncle who is tolerated over Christmas and ostracised for the rest of the year. Your colourful opinions will provoke debate and give journalists something to write about," he said.

The professor of moral philosophy at the University of Aberdeen, Gordon Graham, asks Kennedy to consider the question of "what are the Liberal democrats for?" and warns him off being too close to Labour.

"Alliances with Labour have appeared in the public mind as either failures, or as the loss of any difference between the two parties. This is specially so in the Scottish parliament. But if there is never to be a real role for the party in government, what's the point in belonging to it or voting for it? This is crucial - the LibDems have to find, and explain, and make both attractive and plausible, the idea of a permanent opposition party," he said.

Tribune editor, Mark Seddon, is standing for Labour in Buckingham. Running against Conservative frontbencher, John Bercow - defending a majority of 12, 386 - Seddon will be fighting the Liberal democrats for second place. He wonders whether Kennedy should be in politics at all, describing him as a "bon-viveur, who falls apart when he gets serious - mainly in parliament - because fundamentally he is a political lightweight."

Despite this criticism Seddon believes that the Lib Dem leader is "easily the most attractive - in terms of personality - of the three leaders. Kennedy is refreshing for not being in a similar hurry to Paddy Ashdown, and for not being Paddy Ashdown."

"Kennedy gives the impression of being happier outside politics and lacking the low cunning of many of his peers. This may endear him to some voters who despair of Blair and new Labour, and who could never vote Tory. But Charles Kennedy's essential problem is that two years into his leadership he has failed to remind voters what his party stands for. After the election, stick to the chatshows Charles - and let Simon Hughes have a go," he said.