We won't get to see Presidential campaign ads on TV, so if a powerful one comes along, it is probably worth putting it up here. Obama's team has come out fighting on the touchy subject of Mitt Romney's money -- where he got it and where he hides it. Take a look.
This will show in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. All the pundits seem to agree: it's brutally effective.
Since I'm working for a campaign that is in the middle of buying TV time for use late in the season, I'm interested in why this ad seems to have touched a nerve. (Understand, I have nothing to do with our TV strategy; I mobilize people in campaigns, not media. But if you are in California, you may see our spots in the fall.) Romney spent all Friday afternoon running around to TV network shows to complain about it.
The most interesting discussions that I've encountered has been on TPM, here and here. They get into the ad's sophisticated presentation of sound (Romney singing!) and also why Romney (and hence his campaign) seem to have a hard time understanding that for most of us his record of slightly surreptitious vulture capitalist wealth accumulation is a turn off, not an asset.
But what really stands out to me here is simply what a high quality effort this Obama ad is. I'm not used to political ads that come close in persuasive power and production values to what companies show us every day. We're approaching an orgy of Olympics; that will bring on a display of sophisticated marketing pitches that will make most political ads look like amateur hour. (Remember Demon Sheep anyone? There was amateur hour, also for a candidate whose only "accomplishment" was running a stumbling corporation.)
But this ad is on a different level. It's going to be a long, brutal and probably closely fought election -- no matter where we live, we all have a role as spectators as well as voters. As the campaign goes along, I'll continue to post any ads I think are genuinely interesting.
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