After seeing this commercial on TV this morning, I felt compelled to include it on this blog and offer some comments. Props should be given to the Barack Obama Campaign for utilizing such a popular and catchy song to their benefit. It is distinct in this regard, compared to the rest of the arguably dull and monotonous other campaign ads.
This advertisement is directly aimed at the “typical American” who is feeling the brunt of the weakening economy. The Obama camaign has capitalized on a quote by John McCain and sends an overall message that HE “don’t know much.” This phrase implies John McCain is unintelligent in two respects; (1) through the simple and screamingly obvious grammatical error and (2) that he is not knowledgeable in the workings of the economy. As discussed in class, politicians take one misspoken statement and simply run with it, prying as much influence on the voting population as possible (just as the Republicans have done with Obama’s statements in San Francisco about Pennsylvanians). And this ad is no exception.
Visually, the pictures will certainly resonate with Americans. By showing signs of gas pumps and foreclosure signs, the campaigners are trying to identify with middle-class America, and nowadays, who isn’t concerned with making payments? Furthermore, by adding lyrics about McCain’s poor understanding of middle class hardships, he is building off his previous bashes against McCain (which is demonstrated in previous commercials) that he can’t even recall how many houses he has.
[[ Sidenote: I actually can remember how many… John McCain has seven homes. So I guess his previous efforts had worked!]]
More importantly, this commercial sends another message; that John McCain and George Bush are the same. By showing the two men looking happy together and even embracing one another, viewers may question if these next four years will be any different if McCain is elected. If I were campaigning for Obama, I would take this even one step further or perhaps create another television advertisement that used Bill Clinton. People tend to associate President Clinton with a strong, prosperous economy. Whether you love him or you hate him, he is connected (economically speaking) to a time of growth and opulence. And by creating a link between the democrats and wealth, Americans will recall the 1990’s and contrast it with the economic hardships today. This, in my opinion, would make this ad even more successful in its persuasion.
1 comment:
I agree with you with respect to the Democrats technique of portraying McCain and Bush as the same, and thus undesirable. it was a smart tactic and, as you mentioned, as resonated with Americans. Yet I will disagree with you about using a comparison with Bill Clinton, not based strictly on an economic sense but I think it would contradict the whole Obama message of change and moving in a new direction. It was previously a shot at Hilary during her campaign that she would simply repeat the decisions and policies of her husband during the 1990's, that did not sit well with many Americans.
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