advertising

You are currently browsing articles tagged advertising.

Quick Take

October 30, 2008 in Campaign 2008, Opinion by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

A few quick thoughts on the Obamamercial from last evening.

Overall, it was very, very nicely done. It succeeded at every level in conveying both an urgency to solve the pressing problems of the day and a calm in the man who’s asked to lead those solutions.

I was concerned by two items. The first was the statement that anyone making less than $200,000 will get a tax cut. Unless I misunderstand the numbers, this seems to be a change from the “over $250,000″ tax cut rollback.

The other item was the statement that Obama will “increase domestic oil production.” (I hope that’s an accurate quote - I don’t have the video running.) In any event, I was struck that the statement seemed to be a complete capitulation to McCain’s plan to increase domestic drilling.

If I understand either of these correctly, they could easily be fodder for the McCain campaign for the next six days. And, frankly, they’d represent a slightly bothersome shift by Obama in the last week of the campaign.

Short of those items, the ad was, honestly, brilliant. It’s hard to imagine how anyone could come away from it with any further belief in the McCain-Palin “radical secret Muslim terrorist black man” narrative. The timing was great and the content was spot-on - as we’ve come to expect from this remarkable campaign.

Tags: , ,

Republicans use Obama as the bad guy in negative ads

May 5, 2008 in Campaign 2008, Democrats, Republicans by Tony Steidler-Dennison | No comments

(Via CNN.com.)

Is Sen. Barack Obama the new Sen. Ted Kennedy, Sen. Hillary Clinton or former House Speaker Newt Gingrich? For Republican candidates and political ad makers, the White House hopeful might very well be.

A review of political television advertising nationwide shows that Obama has played a starring role or has been mentioned in at least 9 GOP-inspired ads designed to undercut a Democratic candidate in recent months.

In previous elections, Republicans have used Kennedy and Clinton — especially in the South, where these two Northeast Democrats might not be as well received — in negative ads targeting congressional or state Democratic candidates.

“We’re starting to see Barack Obama come into play in mostly conservative districts,” said Evan Tracey, chief operating officer of TNSMI/CMAG, CNN’s consultant on television advertising.

Obama’s comments about small-town Pennsylvanians being “bitter” people who “cling to guns and religion” over frustration with the economy, and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s controversial remarks, have provided Republicans with material to try to inflict damage in down-ballot races.

“What they do is they draw on the negative character of a candidate, and they attach them to another candidate in the race,” Tracey said. “The question is, is that negative character believable and defendable? That will be the test that these ads will have to stand up to in a few weeks.”

Tags: , ,