(First my computer caught a virus, then I did. Don't think I caught it from the machine, but with the advances being made in computing and software... who knows? Now I'm back!)
The new year is here and with the arrival of 2012 comes the force and fury of a major election year and all the political advertising that comes with it. There aren't many political ads running in Florida just yet but the national pundits are already talking about it and it has caught my attention. The GOP folks are already at it, hot and heavy in Iowa and New Hampshire and it is already ugly.
What if Pizza Hut were to start running ads saying that Domino's Pizza still really is very bad and that there is a history of Domino's employees spitting on their pies? I wonder how would that fly.
I was watching Hardball with Chris Matthews a little while back when they were talking about a Mitt Romney ad that purposely re-edited video of an Obama speech to make it seem like he was saying something that was the opposite of what he actually said. Some pundits hated it. Others thought it was very effective. Click Here to see the video of the segment.
What if Ford were to step up and challenge Chrysler's "Imported from Detroit" claim with accusations of off-shore out-sourcing and hiring illegal aliens? How would you feel about that?
Since that episode of Hardball I've watched as they have shown other spots from Romney, Ron Paul, and the others who have enough cash to buy television this early in the election process. Much of it has been dirty, nasty, negative stuff, the sort that would have made the late Lee Atwater proud. The general consensus, with even Chris Matthews often agreeing, is that negative political advertising can be very effective. In fact, it was said that Newt Gingrich's attempt to keep his campaigning focused and positive had worked against him. The feeling seems to be that when you have one candidate (product) in fierce competition with another candidate (product) it's fine for them to attack and denigrate each other. One starts and the others vengefully join in.
I guess that if someone says something baselessly bad, negative and just plain nasty about me, I would respond defensively. I might even take a swing back, make a claim about my accuser. Human nature?
The public claims to hate negative political ads. However, if the pundits are to be believed, they seem to be swayed by them. So they keep on coming.
Now... Apple playfully slapped around the "PC" in its "I'm a Mac" campaign and the public loved it. Apple had a heck of a year.
Was the difference between the Apple spots and negative political ads that Apple was funny, making the competitor look like a buffoon instead of an evil incompetent, or worse? What if the politicians tried Apple's approach?
What if Apple had tried the politicians' approach and ran spots that referred to IBM as a nameless, faceless corporation hopelessly out of touch with today computer user. Would that have worked?
What if our favorite consumer brands were marketed the same way that politicians market themselves? Personally, I'd probably be working in a different field.
UPDATE: And if you need any additional proof that those awful political ads are effective, Here's a link to a new post on CNN's Wolf Blitzer's blog.
The new year is here and with the arrival of 2012 comes the force and fury of a major election year and all the political advertising that comes with it. There aren't many political ads running in Florida just yet but the national pundits are already talking about it and it has caught my attention. The GOP folks are already at it, hot and heavy in Iowa and New Hampshire and it is already ugly.
What if Pizza Hut were to start running ads saying that Domino's Pizza still really is very bad and that there is a history of Domino's employees spitting on their pies? I wonder how would that fly.
I was watching Hardball with Chris Matthews a little while back when they were talking about a Mitt Romney ad that purposely re-edited video of an Obama speech to make it seem like he was saying something that was the opposite of what he actually said. Some pundits hated it. Others thought it was very effective. Click Here to see the video of the segment.
What if Ford were to step up and challenge Chrysler's "Imported from Detroit" claim with accusations of off-shore out-sourcing and hiring illegal aliens? How would you feel about that?
Since that episode of Hardball I've watched as they have shown other spots from Romney, Ron Paul, and the others who have enough cash to buy television this early in the election process. Much of it has been dirty, nasty, negative stuff, the sort that would have made the late Lee Atwater proud. The general consensus, with even Chris Matthews often agreeing, is that negative political advertising can be very effective. In fact, it was said that Newt Gingrich's attempt to keep his campaigning focused and positive had worked against him. The feeling seems to be that when you have one candidate (product) in fierce competition with another candidate (product) it's fine for them to attack and denigrate each other. One starts and the others vengefully join in.
I guess that if someone says something baselessly bad, negative and just plain nasty about me, I would respond defensively. I might even take a swing back, make a claim about my accuser. Human nature?
The public claims to hate negative political ads. However, if the pundits are to be believed, they seem to be swayed by them. So they keep on coming.
Now... Apple playfully slapped around the "PC" in its "I'm a Mac" campaign and the public loved it. Apple had a heck of a year.
Was the difference between the Apple spots and negative political ads that Apple was funny, making the competitor look like a buffoon instead of an evil incompetent, or worse? What if the politicians tried Apple's approach?
What if Apple had tried the politicians' approach and ran spots that referred to IBM as a nameless, faceless corporation hopelessly out of touch with today computer user. Would that have worked?
What if our favorite consumer brands were marketed the same way that politicians market themselves? Personally, I'd probably be working in a different field.
UPDATE: And if you need any additional proof that those awful political ads are effective, Here's a link to a new post on CNN's Wolf Blitzer's blog.
