Political Ad Guy

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 17:49:00 +0000

Deb Fischer Thinks Nebraska Is Out Of Focus

Some people think Washington is out of touch, but it looks like Senate candidate Deb Fischer thinks the whole state is out of focus. Her new spot has such a big, soft vignette around the edge that it made us feel kinda drunk. And we're not drunk. Honest.

Click here to watch Deb Fischer.

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 00:03:00 +0000

Can charts work on TV? Eric Hovde says sure.

Charts on TV? Bor-ring. Politician climbing up a chart while delivering his message? Not bad. Eric Hovde's first ad in Wisconsin does a nice job of showing off Hovde (a nice comparison to the less-TV-friendly Tommy Thompson) and driving home some good points. We're sure it cost a pretty penny, but it was worth it.

Check out "Chart" here.

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Tue, 31 May 2011 17:27:00 +0000

Priorities USA Kicks Off The 2012 Campaign

The first ad of the 2012 Presidential campaign is, wait for it, an attack ad. In this particularly uninspiring piece of creative, Priorities USA uses Newt Gingrich, Paul Ryan and Nikki Haley to go after Mitt Romney (I know, it didn't make sense to me, either) with the tested-in-NY26 Medicare hit.

We hope this doesn't portend a 2012 of cheaply produced, poorly written, I-made-it-on-my-laptop-while-sitting-in-the-LaGuardia-Admirals-Club ads. But I think it does.

Click here to sit through "Pages"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Wed, 25 May 2011 00:08:00 +0000

Oceana Thinks There's Oil In New York Harbor

Oil! Black gold! Staten Island tea! According to this poster (spotted by the world famous Gregg Keller), everybody in Staten Island is about to be filthy rich. Not only does this poster miss the mark, it's an attempt to co-opt 9/11 imagery and feelings to push an agenda. That's not right.

Thanks again to "Hollywood" Gregg Keller. Have you seen a great (or bad) poster? You have a camera phone. Shoot it and send it in.

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Mon, 23 May 2011 22:14:00 +0000

Steve Beshear Works Behind A Desk

Wouldn't it be great if you could just buy stock footage and stick your own face in it? That's pretty much what Kentucky's Steve Beshear is doing here. We see Steve on a park bench, Steve in a factory, Steve behind a desk and, wait for it, Steve in a diner.

Even Beshear's tagline, Tested Trusted Tough, has the smell of old alliterative cheese.

Click here to watch "Bio." But, trust us, you've seen it all before.

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Sun, 22 May 2011 21:20:00 +0000

Flim-Flam Man Jack Davis Gives Us Most Depressing Ad Ever

The NY-26 special election, which goes to the polls Tuesday, is a political train wreck. (Naturally, we couldn't help but look.) It features Jack Davis, a Democrat running on the Tea Party line on the ballot. Flim-flam or genius? Doesn't really matter because he's going to lose. Trouble is, he'll probably take the Republican candidate with him.

At least he gaves us this gem of an ad that Politico called the most depressing campaign ad ever. Dad lost his job. Mom needs chemotherapy. Sis is depressed. Brother is, well, he's just kind of a prop.

Click here to watch Jack Davis' "Chemotherapy"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 13:06:00 +0000

Waste Money The Chinese Way (CAGW) Or The American Way (Bankrupting America)

Wasting money is some of the best creative fodder around.

In this lavish ad for Citizens Against Government Waste, the Chinese become the target. Nice concept, well-produced, nicely derisive and reminscent of Apple's "1984" without directly stealing from it. I thought the giant CG Chinese flag could have looked better, but I'm nit picking.

Earlier in the cycle, Bankrupting America went up with this simple ad showing how, not the Chinese, but our own government is spending us into the ground. Literally. Full disclosure: this is spot our talented team produced.

Grade?: A for both

Click here to watch CAGW "Chinese Professor"

Click here to watch Bankrupting America's "Stop Digging"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 16:58:00 +0000

Dead Man Talking: Stevens Endorses Murkowski

This had to be a tough call. The Murkowski campaign cuts an endorsement spot with the late Sen. Ted Stevens. We all know what happened next.

With her campaign in major trouble, she really needs that endorsement. No doubt, Senator Stevens would have wanted them to use the ad, but it's still a tricky bit of business.

Here, the Murkowski campaign plays it smart and errs on the side of respect having Sen. Stevens' daughter introduce the ad, give her blessing and even appear with Murkowski.

Will this turn the tide and get people to write in Murkowski? Probably not, but it's Alaska, so you never know.

It won't win any awards for creativity, but they handled this right.

Grade: B

Click here to watch "Ted Stevens"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 17:48:00 +0000

David Vitter Says Charlie Melancon Is A Tad Weak On Immigration

Vitter is hitting Charlie Melancon hard with this over-the-top "Immigrants Welcome" spot.

These are always tricky to do, because you want to get the point across without insulting anyone but the opposing candidate. In this case, Team Vitter goes with ridiculous, cartoony visuals that really work. You won't miss this spot on TV.

Grade: B

Click here to watch "Welcome Prize"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 02:30:00 +0000

Rand Paul Discovers That Comedy Is A Dangerous Business

We've ranted and raved about the lack of production values in political ads. This time we won't. Because Rand Paul has taught us you can still make a dreary commercial with nice production values.

We want to like this spot and, on paper, it has everything. Quality shooting, tasteful editing, good props, what could be wrong?

It's only half an idea.

A Barack Obama impersonator talking about how much he wants Jack Conway in the Senate. Good start, but it doesn't go anywhere from there. No gag, no twist, no great line for people to talk about over coffee in the morning.

Looks good, but it's a missed opportunity.

Grade: B (for the production value)

Click here to watch "Stamp of Approval"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 20:33:00 +0000

Christine O'Donnell Not A Witch Apparently

Let's be honest, Christine O'Donnell has made some boneheaded moves. One smart move she made was to hire a top flight media consultant.

In this straight-to-camera confessional Christine comes off as earnest, honest and brave enough to present a contrast to the whirlwind of noise around her.

We still think she has a snowball's chance in hell of winning this thing, but this is a simple, well-done ad that hits all the right buttons.

Grade: B

Click here to watch "You"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 19:13:00 +0000

John McCain Delivers For Bill Flores

Love him or hate him, when John McCain is on he can really deliver. Here he is doing just that for Bill Flores.

We like the closer shot of Bill Flores speaking to workers, but the shot of him working at his desk late at night? Let's aim a little higher folks.

Grade: B

Click here to watch "Texans Deserve Better"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 04:21:00 +0000

Joe DioGuardi Does A Little Presto Chango

Joe DioGuardi has a problem. His opponent is a very good looking woman. He looks like Joe Pesci.

The solution? In this case, a bit of trickery. This spot features Joe standing on a white cyc holding a green screen credit card that magically changes as he swipes his finger across it.

To be honest, his opponent is a lot easier on the eyes, but this spot's pretty well done.

Grade: B

Click here to watch "Credit Card"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 02:37:00 +0000

Vitter-Melancon Battle Only Slightly Better Than Fake Sumo Wrestling At A Corporate Retreat

Ever seen two guys in those big puffy fake sumo wrestler suits go at it? Kind of funny for a couple of minutes, then just sad and embarrassing. That pretty well sums up the Vitter-Melancon race.

Vitter has trotted out a series of ho-hum ads including a spot that used one of my favorite horrible political ad cliches, "Charlie Melancon, he's not on our side." Oh yeah, it has a bobblehead in it, too.

Now Melancon, shooting the best (and probably) last bullet in his gun, Charlie has produced a 2:00 commercial laying out (pun intended) the Vitter prostitution story. But this is no ordinary 2:00 commercial, it's repackaged as a quasi news show.

The big moment comes at 1:01 where they show someone who wants their identity protected. We see the silhouette of someone identified as "Retired Firefighter" who says, "if someone writes the laws, they should abide by the laws." Explosive!

The "re-enactment" scene is pretty funny, too.

I give them credit for trying to do something interesting, but it's probably best left to professionals.

Grade: C

Click here to watch "Forgotten"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:20:00 +0000

DGA Tries To Break Rick Perry, Winds Up Cracking Us Up

It's big news that the DGA is playing in the Texas Governor's Race. Especially when you consider that running TV in the Lone Star State is going to cost them somewhere north of $600,000 a week.

But if you're going to run millions of dollars in paid media, shouldn't you spend more than hundreds of dollars on the production of your spot. The visuals are homemade, the image is mushy and the entire spot looks as if they spent almost as much as ten minutes in deep thought about it.

The messaging has the potential to hit hard, but the technique puts the "hack" in "hackneyed." If this is their best shot, Rick Perry has nothing to worry about.

Grade: F

Click here to watch "Cracks"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 00:24:00 +0000

Alan Grayson Makes My Head Hurt

It's negative ad season. I get that. Trust me when I tell you a good negative ad should be clear and simple. It can be funny, it can be fancy, but it has to make sense right away.

Apparently Alan Grayson disagrees with me.

In this attack ad against Daniel Webster, they use a piece of video that would, no doubt, drive Grayson's base crazy. But it's so chopped up, stomped on and convoluted that I could barely make it to the 30 second mark.

But I'm glad I did, because at the end Grayson calls Daniel Webster a Taliban. That made my day.

Grade: D

Hold on tight and watch "Taliban"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 12:15:00 +0000

Carly Fiorina Plays The "Ma'am" Card Just Right

When you have a killer piece of video against your opponent, the easiest thing to do is overplay your hand.

Team Carly has been sitting on the "Call me Senator" clip for months waiting for the right time to use it. (This clip really sticks in my craw, because I live in Texas where "ma'am" is always an appropriate term of address, but never mind.)

In this spot from Fred Davis' Strategic Perception, the clip is handled exactly right. It's played in context and features a short, but stinging rebuke nicely delivered by the candidate.

Instead of a personal attack, they use the clip to jujitsu Washington arrogance as a whole. Nice edit and terrific performance by Carly. (But she's spoiled us all cycle.) Tip of the beret to the cinematographer who put Carly in a dramatic light while still keeping an approachable look.

Grade: A (My first "A" of the cycle, besides the ones I gave myself)

Click here to watch and learn

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 22:15:00 +0000

Charlie Crist Draws The Line

How do you explain why you changed your party affiliation to Independent without using the words "because I was going to lose the Republican primary?"

Charlie Crist does a pretty decent job of it in this spot called "Line In The Sand." He shot it on a beach in Florida and uses the sand as a nice device to get his point across. Love him or hate him, Charlie delivers on camera.

But hey, what's the deal with the snap-zoom into Charlie when he speaks? Seems like there are two mandatories for every Charlie Crist spot:

1. Put Charlie in a light blue golf shirt
2. Snap zoom into Charlie when he speaks

It's hokey camera work in an otherwise nice spot.

Click here to see "Line In The Sand"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:44:00 +0000

Jerry Labriola Tries To Be So Bad It's Good

The budget for the Old Spice commercials are probably north of a million dollars a piece. The budget for Jerry Labriola's "spoof" (nice word for "stolen") is north of about a hundred.

I don't even know what to say. Except stealing is bad. In this case, really bad.

Make sure you have an empty stomach and click here to watch "Anything Is Possible"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 12:50:00 +0000

Rick Perry: A Good Actor In A Bad Movie

Sometimes you go to the movies and you wonder, how on earth did that guy wind up attached to that piece of trash? That's what's going on with Rick Perry's new commercial.

Love him or hate him (there are lots of folks on both sides), you have to admit Rick Perry's a pretty decent actor. Looks good, hits his marks, takes direction, camera likes him, etc.

Even the message is good. "Texas Is Open For Business" is a solid piece of strategic writing.

But it's the space between concept and execution that separates the good from the bad.

The idea is completely sabotaged by a lackluster, flat video look, some amateurish color correction and some set ups that make us want to pull out the Flock of Seagulls cassettes. And why is the candidate in the exact same wardrobe in every single shot?

A major race ($2 million a message for media) in a major state (that happens to be home to several Hollywood network TV productions) should look a whole lot better.

Grade: C

Click here to watch "Open For Business"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 11:08:00 +0000

Christine O'Donnell Has A Few Complaints About Mike Castle

Okay, for those of you who say I only pick on Democrats, today is your lucky blog day.

Christine O'Donnell, locked in a rock 'em-sock 'em Senate primary battle with Mike Castle, is up with a spot that can only be described as ten pounds of polling data in a five pound bag.

Too many copy points with too many standard-issue political spot graphics all over the screen. It looks like a 30-second ransom note.

We like Christine O'Donnell, she's the kind of fiesty candidate that keeps politics fun. But just because you're running in a small state doesn't mean you have to look small. Good spots and bad spots, they all cost the same. This just isn't US Senate caliber work.

Grade: D

Click here to watch "Castle"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 02:30:00 +0000

Joe Wilson Calls In The Marine(s)

MoveOn.org has decided to play in a South Carolina Congressional race giving money to Rob Miller.

Needless to say, MoveOn.org isn't really popular in South Carolina. Especially with military folks. General Jim Livingston goes on TV to have a Marine-to-Marine talk with Rob Miller about giving the money back. Sounds convoluted, but the general makes it work.

His performance is an A, the graphics are a C. We'll give it a B.

Click here to see "General Livingston"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 14:11:00 +0000

Ted Strickland Breaks New Creative Ground

In his latest attack ad, Ted Strickland uses grainy black and white slow motion images of his opponent, hokey After Effects tricks on cheap stock photos and red bars with blocky, poorly set type.

Then, he kicks it up a notch by using a shot of the US Capitol in the background and invoking China.

I think the bar has been set.

Grade: D

Click here to endure "Revolving Door"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 22:02:00 +0000

Jerry Brown Changes Course, Goes Positive

After the unions have poured millions into a negative TV blitz on Jerry Brown's behalf, Jerry Brown has decided to do something crazy – go positive.

In Jerry's first spot, he brings back the good old days. Emphasis on old since many voters weren't born yet or are now too old to remember Jerry's actual record. The spot itself is a 70's throwback that drags production values down to the basement using cheap, if not free, stock footage and a very uninspiring turn with Jerry talking straight to the camera.

If you can bore people into voting for you, Jerry's in.

Check out "Jerry"

noreply@blogger.com (politicaladguy) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:11:00 +0000

Patty Murray Tries To Turn Lemons Into Wenatchee Lemonade

Patty Murray has a little problem. Like a lot of senators who have made their careers on their ability to haul pork back home, Patty now has to justify all the pork hauling.

Trouble is, that ain't easy.

In this testimonial spot, Karl Struble sets the "way back" machine for 1995 and turns what should be an emotional story about saving lives in Washington to a generic hospital commercial with no heart. Where are the patients whose lives were saved? Where are the people telling the heartwarming stories?

Instead, Struble gives us people in scrubs whipping out old bromides like "she really came through for us" and "she cut through the red tape" combined with b-roll shots of Patty nodding as people pretend to talk to her.

Free tip of the day: you can't bore people into voting for you.

Grade: D

Click here to watch "Wenatchee"