Political ads fill news shows but avoid the headlines
For months, television’s evening news shows have been dominated by warring factions in Gaza, Iraq and Ukraine, but the political ads that air between stories are more likely to focus on “bad guys” closer to home — such as President Obama or the Koch brothers.
Political ads in congressional races largely avoid international events — focusing instead on jobs, taxes, health care and even family histories designed to boost the candidate’s appeal.
“What’s most striking is that there’s so much going on in the world, and almost none of it is showing up in ads,” says Elizabeth Wilner, senior vice president of Kantar Media, which monitors political advertising. “As long as a (foreign policy) story is still moving, politicians are so risk-averse they would rather not come down one way or another in an ad.”
Ads from both political parties include “some version of ‘Washington is broken, the federal government doesn’t help you and me,’ ” Wilner says.
Congressional races will become more intense now that Labor Day has passed. Thanks to well-funded parties, outside groups and primary campaigns, there have already been political ads on TV for months. Voters who watch enough of them will notice some themes:
Get dad to help: A crop of second-generation Democratic candidates have turned to their better-known parent for a boost. Michelle Nunn, running for the Senate from Georgia, and Arkansas incumbent Sen. Mark Pryor, have appeared in ads with their fathers, both former senators. An ad for Alaska Sen. Mark Begich focused on his father, Rep. Nick Begich, who died in 1972 in a plane crash while traveling around the state. “Mark is clearly his father’s son,” Begich’s wife, Deborah Bonito, says in a voiceover. Gary King, son of three-time New Mexico governor Bruce King, cites “the King family tradition of service” in his ads challenging incumbent Republican Gov. Susana Martinez. Scott Brown, the Republican running for Senate in New Hampshire after serving as senator from Massachusetts, doesn’t have any relatives who held elected office — so he turned to Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who made an ad for him in his race against her colleague Democratic incumbent Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.
Go for the spit take: Ebola and parrot poop are unlikely topics for political ads, but candidates use out-of-the-ordinary imagery to grab viewers’ attention and presumably their votes. Some are icky: The anti-tax group Club for Growth showed a talking parrot to mock Arkansas’ Pryor on health care, then capped the ad with the parrot pooping on a copy of The New York Times. Pryor returned the favor with footage of the Ebola outbreak in an ad accusing his opponent, Rep. Tom Cotton, of voting against disaster funding. Some are wacky: A new ad from Democrat Paul Davis, trying to unseat Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, shows the candidate in a car speeding past cornfields — in reverse gear. In Michigan, Republican Gov. Rick Snyder appears in a wet suit and snorkel mask. Others go for humor: In a spot for Minnesota Republican Mike McFadden, running for Senate, cute peewee football players vouch for “Coach McFadden,” then apparently hit him in the groin, causing him to deliver the ad’s “I approve this message” disclaimer in falsetto.
Too many political spots this election season rely on ad cliches such as headlines, grainy black-and-white photos and newscast clips, says Rick Wilson, a Republican ad consultant who has made his share of hard-hitting spots. He liked the ad from Iowa’s Republican Senate candidate Joni Ernst, in which she announced she “grew up castrating hogs on an Iowa farm.”
“It did what it was supposed to do,” Wilson says. “It got people talking, it got people thinking she’s not a standard Republican.” Ernst won her primary in June and faces Rep. Bruce Braley, a Democrat, in November.
Run against someone else: Public opinion of Congress and the president is at historic lows, so candidates are happy to tie their opponent to the person they believe to be voters’ least favorite. For Republicans, that means Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. In Pennsylvania, Gov. Tom Corbett, facing a tight re-election race, airs an ad that says Democrat Tom Wolf supports Obama’s health care overhaul, gun control agenda and opposition to coal. For good measure, the ad links Wolf with former Democratic governor Ed Rendell. “Voting for him is like voting to give Obama and Rendell a third term,” the ad says.
For Democrats, the go-to demons are the Koch brothers, billionaire industrialists who fund conservative groups including Americans for Prosperity. A new ad from incumbent Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., calls his GOP opponent, physician Monica Wehby, “a good investment for the Koch brothers. But she’s the wrong choice for Oregon.”
Guilt by association is not a new technique — Democrats put President George W. Bush into many congressional ads in 2002. “There’s still some utility for that kind of hammer-and-tongs advertising,” Wilson says, but he worries that voters are so used to it, they will tune out. “Neither side is covering themselves with glory this year.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdgLN6-AMoE
(From the: USA Today)
