Archive for the ‘Campaign Ads gone MAD’ Category
The GOP has a new darling, Rick Santorum (sorry Newt).
He’s taken a surprising lead over consistent second-runner Mitt Romney. Santorum seemed to be picking up momentum after winning the Iowa caucus. But the former Pennsylvania Senator quickly fell into the background with Ron Paul as Mitt and Newt duked it out over South Carolina.
Now Santorum is the twinkle in Republicans’ eyes. But he will now have to contend with an even more powerful opponent : Mitt Money.
Romney’s (unaffiliated…wink,wink) Super PACs have a lot of money and know how to use it. With Santorum as the new front-runner, they have turned their sights on the sweater vested underdog.
This is a typical attack ad painting Santorum as a “big spender, Washington insider.” Santorum is vulnerable because in the election money game he has pennies to Romney’s millions. But his campaign is fighting back with an ad that just kinda made us smile.
Has “Rombo” met his match or will money take all?
Get your remote controls ready, folks… political attack ads are about to kick it up a notch.
It’s just weeks before the madcap election year, we are about to get barraged by overdone partisan commercial hackery.
But hold on… there is the occasional original attack ad out there.
This one fits the bill. It is more like a short film (more than 5 minutes in length).
The video explores the idea that Democratic Senator Bob Casey and President Obama are so similar that they must have been separated at birth. It reminds us 2008 when Democratic candidates used similar tactics of tying their opponents to President Bush. Although we have never seen one quite like this.
Do you think this is an effective ad?
This is another Cain video that really needs no explanation.
Shot on an iPhone: Check.
Awkward slide transitions: Check.
SURPRISE AT THE 40 SECOND MARK: DOUBLE CHECK.
You figured someone would do it.
Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain released a 9/11 tribute video today in which he sings, “God Bless America” over some of the more harrowing 9/11 footage.
Mr. Cain, we salute you! The first candidate to use (abuse?)9/11 in a political campaign Ad!
In our ongoing coverage of this year’s political ads we thought we’d take a break from the tomfoolery of mudslingers and look at one of this season’s clever (and rare) positive ads.
Today, we at USDemocrazy suffered a big blow to our future plans as campaign ad hecklers. (If you’ve been following our tour of Campaign ads gone MAD! you’ll know what we mean!) Thanks to an attentive friend of the blog, we heard about WNYC’s On the Media hosts posting videos of some interesting ads with their own snarky commentary.
In what they’re calling “Media Scrutiny Theater 2010,” hosts Bob Garfield and Brooke Gladstone have a look at some of the BIG claims made by the candidates in the ads and wonder if the candidate is getting the whole picture, so to speak. Quit listening to us, check THEM out! (Below is our favorite, but click the link above for more.)
Okay… this is not officially a campaign advertisement (in fact it is an advertisement for the actor Ronnie Butler who does a decent Obama impersonation) … Still the video is irresistible. For those of you wanting political dirt, an apology: there is no mud being thrown around in the Ad… but there is a mention of doggie poop.
We in the US annually win the contest for the world’s best (or is it worst) election campaign attack ads.
But today we humbly pass on the Gold Medal to our Canadian neighbors to the north. A kick in the face is hard act to beat… particularly if it is a child’s face.
Congratulations Canada!
After so many candidates trying new things in their campaign adds it is nice to see a candidate going back to the basics. It’s videos like this that remind us at US Democrazy why we decided to be pundits rather than politicians.
Poor Christine O’Donnell had to spend money on a TV ad to tell people there that she’s not a witch. Luckily for her, she’s getting quite a bang for her buck since that ad is being seen far and wide. (Thanks in no small part, we’re sure, to USDemocrazy’s post last week!)
And that wonderful campaign ad entered the campaign ads gone MAD hall of fame the minute SNL spoofed it. That’s the official measure of a hall of fame candidate, FYI.
We’re mere weeks away from Halloween, so check out this witchy woman to get in the mood:
What do you think? Did Saturday Night Live capture the mood of the ad?
In our ongoing coverage of campaign ads gone MAD, we thought we would share this one from Joe Manchin (D) of West Virginia. Not really sure why he needs the gun, but who wants to trade fire with his NRA endorsement? ( health-care and cap and trade don’t seem relevant to the 2nd amendment… but it’s hard to argue with a man with a rifle)
Keep in mind this guy is a Democrat (you should meet West Virginia’s Republicans).
We at USDemocrazy like to think we are above all that campaign ad propaganda, but with such a theatrical election race Christine O’Donnell’s new add has bewitched us. But to be clear- She is saying she’s NOT a witch. This got us thinking, her simple message and clean look seem to defy the media hype that attempts to discredit her, but how much do these ads really influence us?
One Texas Governor includes footage of his attempt to hand a letter directly to President Obama about border control problems, but are any of these things enough to get the vote? Does the way a shot is recorded really matter? What would YOU like to see from a candidate this election?
We at USDemocrazy have been closely watching two current news trends in the United States: the recent upswing in Islam-a-phobia and the proliferation of crazy Political election Ads.
Today candidate Renee Ellmers of North Carolina has done us a great favor for by combining the two in a neat little news item! She has launched the ad above in a naked attempt ( no relation to our coverage of naked voting) to paint her opponent as “Pro-terrorist”.
Renee is using the same flawed reasoning that Glenn Beck has used on his radio program to explain why this 9-11″mosque,” (or more accurately, Islamic Community Center) is actually just a “victory” mosque for terrorists who caused the 9/11 attacks.
Which leaves us confused (editor: not uncommon). What is the difference between an mosque and a “Victory” mosque? Should all mosques be banned in the country? Or perhaps there should be a new zoning code allowing special designated areas for “Victory Mosques”.
A flustered Ellmers on Anderson Cooper’s program, when questioned about her ad and her interchangeable use of the words “Muslim” and “terrorist,” explained that “Do you know that [those constructing the center aren't terrorists], sir? We don’t even know who are the donors to that.”
Is this ad in poor taste? Or are you “Pro-terrorist” like Ellmers’ opponent? Sounds like Islam-a-phobia to us.
“I get naked for the arts”
“I get naked for the stimulus”
“I get naked for immigration reform”
It doesn’t get more naked than this folks. A new campaign in Illinois is encouraging voters to “take advantage of a new system that allows them to vote by mail.” So easy, you can be naked while you do it ….. at home.
Last week, USDemocrazy kicked off its seminal 2010 election for BEST CAMPAIGN AD (of the year) EVER. This week, we’ve got entry number two for you, brought to our attention thanks to The Washington Post.
In the ad you see above, things get a little theatrical, with Nancy Pelosi portrayed not so kindly as the Wicked Witch of the West from a beloved film, “The Wizard of Oz.”
Spolier alert: John Dennis, challenging Madame Speaker Pelosi for her California congressional seat (who’s got as much of a chance in this race as the lion has courage… pre-Wizard visit). He defeats Pelosi in the ad by throwing on her a nice cold bucket of water that’s labeled “Freedom.”
Do you get it?
Did you like it? Did you think it was silly? It was probably meant to be silly.
