What is the biggest sin of modern political television ads. Inaccuracy? Negativity? Hyperbole?
Sameness. Sameness, sameness, sameness. The sheer repetition of identical production techniques is what causes most television ads to be a mindnumbing waste of money. They sound so much alike that they wash over us like Muzak in a mall.
We all know the drill. The dire music. The dour voiceover. The grainy, contorted still photo of the opponent having a bad hair day. All interspersed with headlines o’ doom.
Then, aburpt transition. Sunny music. Upbeat voiceover. Gorgeous glossies of the sponsoring candidate having a decidedly great hair day. Listening intently to granny. Reading to sonny boy. Touring a high tech plant with sleeves rolled up, “creating jobs.” Working hard at the desk late at night. Receiving adoring applause from constituents. All interspersed with headlines o’hope.
The messages? The issues? The ideology? The point? Don’t ask me. I was thinking about something else. The last 20 roughly identical ads that barged into my living room robbed me of my ability to focus and differentiate.
Why do all campaign ads look alike? Because pre-fab, mass assembly ads are quicker, easier and cheaper to produce than an original concept, and the less money spent on production the more that can be spent on the consultants’ fees. Consultants like that model.
Unimaginative political consultants eager to keep fees to themselves, employ all political strategists and no true artists or visionaries. They run ad agencies entirely populated by Account Planners, and devoid of Creative Directors, Art Directors and high end Directors and production professionals. The few that have them obviously don’t empower them.
Thus, sameness. While Madison Avenue agencies often err on the side of all art and no strategy, K Street agencies err on the side of all strategy and no art.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not one who claims all political advertising is ineffective. Even really poorly executed political advertising is often extremely effective, particularly negative advertising. I’ve seen it dramatically change survey results overnight.
I’m saying that political ads could be even more effective if more of us noticed the ads more often. And more of us would notice and remember them if they occassionally contained an unexpected twist of humor, color, candor, metaphor, analogy or original design work.
In the time I was pecking this post, three very expensive political ads ran, and I, a recovering political junky, have absolutely no idea what they said. After all, when produced as Muzak, even Nine Inch Nails and Nancy Sinatra tunes begin to sound alike.
– Loveland
The Same Rowdy Crowd