Freshen Up The Ads

Joe Sudbay makes a great point here that I've only made in passing, which is that Barack Obama's ads have been, for lack of a better word, crap. It's not that the information isn't useful at times, it's just that they look, sound and feel like every campaign ad out there. There's nothing outside the very narrow box of typical ads, and they do not reflect the candidate or his supposedly fresh approach in any meaningful way. There were a couple ads early in the cycle that hinted at a more grandiose message, or let the candidate speak in his own words, but even those are a little bit rote. The Super Bowl ad was a little fresher, with quick cuts and a focus on the movement of volunteers that were making change happen, but that was the exception, not the rule. Sudbay is right, this could easily be made into an ad.



There's a way to do this that would be the same old kind of ad. But using Obama's speech, juxtaposing with some fresh images... THAT would be a good ad.

Calling McCain a liar could help too, but that would be untoward, so we'll leave that to the surrogates.



See also the NYT op-ed, "Low Road Express."