It's been a long time

But finally, a director with a clue and without a finger up their ass made a political ad.



I've always been shocked by how bad political tv ads are -- especially on the national level. The people who make them seem to have no art or finesse. What they don't seem to realize is they're selling a product, same as any other ad. And so one would imagine they would try to have a little Escalade / Grey Goose / Macintosh / Calvin Klein type feel, trying to create an emotional response. Instead, most political ads feel like Flowbee / Topsy Tail / Avacor spots -- "This is the product and this is what it does." Candidates are brands and brands that are affective have strong feelings attached to them.

One of the CEOs in the SUV show said, "a brand is a promise." He's right. But the promise needs to be more than "I'll work hard on behalf of all Americans....etc. etc." That really has no meaning.

The clip above is a step in the right direction, but not nearly far enough to be truely effective. It breaks out of the traditional ad mold, is self conscious (and self-depricating) and creates a great brand image for the candidate. But he's still telling you exactly what he does (or, more precisely, doesn't do). A more effective spot would have you feeling something intangible and positive about him. Madison Avenue knows how to make audiences "feel" rather than think when it comes to picking between two nearly identical detergents on the shelf -- I'm surprised this skill hasn't filtered down.

Bonus feature -- My favorite political ad of all time -- Johnson's "Daisy" spot -- leaves a strong friggin' impression: