There's a part of me that wonders if they test any of this (0.00 / 0)

they had a Madison Avenue ad guy on the radio the other day, and showed him a bunch of the ads run by McCain, Clinton and Obama, and he ran them by a focus group.  

His discovery was that the focus group found them almost completely ineffective-they didn’t move the preferences at all, really.  

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by: Valatan @ Fri Sep 12, 2008 at 18:08:44 PM UTC

 

Interesting (0.00 / 0)

that in the article you link to the Obama said said its campaign’s message is:

“Out of touch, out of touch, out of touch.”

Because by most indications, including the convention, the message is:

McCain = Bush.

The messages are related, of course, but they’re decided not the same message, and it’s my opinion that the failure to pick one is a major problem.

Unless, perhaps, this signals a shift from the McBush attack to the out-of-touch attack. I hope so. I believe the out of touch message is better for a variety of reasons:

1. It goes directly at McCain
2. McCain is successfully separating himself from Bush, but according to polls, Americans believe he’s out of touch
3. Judging by the McCain’s campaign multiple bumbling responses during the housing gaffe, they’re afraid of this line of attack and don’t know how to handle it. In fact, their fear of this attack disqualified Romney as VP and brought us Palin.
4. It jibes beautifully with the economic populism needed to combat McCain camp’s cultural populism. Obama needs to show Americans that McCain–in not knowing many houses he owns, in thinking multi-millionaires are middle-class, in helping out the his fellow rich at the expense of everyone else–is not only out of touch but culturally out of step will us.

On this last all-important point Lakoff’s got some good stuff:

 

The Obama campaign has problems with conservative populism. They don’t seem to understand it. Conservative populism on a national scale was invented in the late 1960s. At the time, most working people identified themselves with liberals. But conservatives realized that many working people were what I have called “biconceptuals” – they are genuinely conservative in their mode of thought about patriotism and certain family issues, though they are progressive in their understanding of nature (they love the land) and their commitment to communities where people care about each other etc. So conservatives have talked to them nonstop about conservative “patriotism” and “family values”, thus activating their conservative mindset. At the same time, conservative theorists invented the ideal of “liberal elitism”: that liberals look down upon working people and are not like them. Conservatives have been working at constructing this mythology for nearly 40 years and liberals have stood by and let it happen. Palin is a natural for the conservative populists. She understands their culture.

   Conservative populism is a cultural, not an economic, phenomenon. These are folks who often vote against their economic self-interest and instead vote on their identity as conservatives and on their antipathy to liberals, who they see as elitists who look down on them. Simply giving conservative populists facts and figures won’t work.

   They tend to vote for people they identify with and against people who they see as looking down on them. The job for the Obama campaign is to reverse the present mindset that the Republicans have constructed, to reveal the conservatives as elitist Washington insiders who cynically manipulate them, to get conservative populists to identify with Obama and Biden on the basis of values and character, and to have them see realities through Obama’s leadership capacities. Not an easy job. But it’s the real job.

http://www.truthout.org/articl…

“Not an easy job. But it’s the real job.”

Indeed. Obama is a black candidate trying to defeat the most potent political force ever since Nixon: conservative cultural populism, which is especially designed to exploit racial fear and resentment. Merely saying that McCain will continue the Bush policies is much too weak a message.

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by: david mizner @ Fri Sep 12, 2008 at 18:10:00 PM UTC

 

Pros and Cons (0.00 / 0)

Some ramblings

The out of touch thing nails McCain for what he is: a villager with no inkling to reform the place.  A wealthy man that is incredibly out of touch with Americans.

The phrase “out of touch” doesn’t punch you in the gut. It’s lofty, it means aloof, in the clouds.  

Chris, I’d run an ad that just said “John McCain is Old and Out of Touch.”  That would get a lot of hits is my guess.  This is why I actually sort of like that ad the Obama campaign is running about him being out of touch, and the computer thing.  Look, he’s old, he stammers when he defends himself, he’s wealthy and rides around in golf carts.  His VP nominee is cocky and crazy.  

Even then, Obama can’t just go for the age thing, and it doesn’t attack his strengths.  We need to take the maverick thing and flip it, not accept the frame, but just take maverick and make it into crazy.  Can we use the out of touch thing for that?  I don’t really see it.  

Unless of course we tie his “out of touch” statement to the fact that he doesn’t care about sending troops into harms way.  But of course, his son is in the military, which does deflate that attack.  

Gotta go crazy uncle, old, out of touch, and crazy.  

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by: Werty83 @ Fri Sep 12, 2008 at 18:23:11 PM UTC

 

Ok, I'm up with two google ads (0.00 / 0)

I really like this Chris.

My two ads:

McCain Old, Out of Touch
John McCain admits he’s out of it
It’s easy to be out of touch

the second

McCain=Crazy Uncle
Maverick is another word for cowboy
No More Quick Draw Presidents

The first links to the Youtube of him saying he’s out of touch.  The second links to Jeffrey Goldberg’s Atlantic article.  I feel like the second is the one that grabs me more initially and will get more hits.  

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by: Werty83 @ Fri Sep 12, 2008 at 18:49:48 PM UTC

[ Parent ]  

Nice idea, the Google ad on this (0.00 / 0)

but it would be better if your ad could link directly to a short video of him just making the comment.

A link to the politco article would work, but let’s face it, the thing is too long for most people to slog through, especially if they just impulsively click on your ad.

I would think the most effective internet-based ads would be short, sweet and to the point.  Afterall, most of us surfing the web, even for our politics, have short attention spans…

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by: alffy @ Fri Sep 12, 2008 at 18:27:43 PM UTC

 

When McCain says it, its "Straight Talk" (0.00 / 0)

Everyone KNOWS that DC insiders are “out of touch”, including McCain’s base, all he’s done is acknowledge it.

He can bring “change” from inside the beltway because he has the guts to talk “truth to power” (like Palin, BTW) and admit that he is “out of touch”.

Attack his “strengths”, instead.  Honor and Judgement.

Honorable humans don’t use their political power to keep their family members out of jail, nor do they run a campaign based on lies and innuendo.

Humans of good judgement do not support inane wars (that they claim to “hate”) without serious debate and deliberation. Did McCain ever read the NIE? What questions did he ask before the invasion of Iraq? Was he engaged in a debate, or simply defending his knee-jerk militaristic response?

How, precisely, does being a POW prepare one to be the President of the USA?  


“It sounds wrong…
     …but its right.”

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by: SpitBall @ Fri Sep 12, 2008 at 18:32:48 PM UTC

 

McCain Speaks, Mayors & Governors Lack National Security Experience (0.00 / 0)

This is too Priceless!

McCain: Mayors & Governors Do Not Have National Security Experience! Then why did he give us Sarah Paliin?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…

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by: angellight @ Fri Sep 12, 2008 at 19:26:47 PM UTC

 

click saver (0.00 / 0)

Michael Bloomberg, prince of corporate welfare

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by: Will @ Fri Sep 12, 2008 at 21:04:10 PM UTC

[ Parent ]