Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Ads of the Damned: Democratic National Committee, "Shots"

Steve Kagen isn't always the whipping boy for shadowy right-wing activist groups looking to score a quick buck from potential donors. Sometimes his friends at the DNC lend him a hand too, like with this little number (that is ridiculously not embeddable):

I guess we could talk about some of the more salient details of this ad, but instead we're going to focus on one of the more comical. Starting around 0:12 of this spot we get a pan that ends in this frame:Wait a second ... haven't we seen that mammography before? Of course we have! Right here, during an Americans for Prosperity issue/attack ad slamming Kagen:

It's stock footage, ladies and gentlemen. It happens all the time, but usually not as obviously.

As we move along further through the ad we meet this attractive young lady representing small business owners everywhere:

Does she look familiar? That's because the same actress was in this ad for American Future Fund, once again representing small businesses everywhere:
So depending on how you look it, the woman above will either die a painful horrible death or be cured of breast cancer and the woman below will either achieve the American Dream or have her hopes crushed under the tyranny of socialism.

Let's try to mix things up a bit here, DNC.

Final Grade: F

1 comment:

No Ma'am-o-gram Stewie said...

Stewie here (of course)

okay at first it seems insane, if I understand correctly that the same footage is used in the supportive ad as the attack ad. but wait...

if someone makes an attack ad about you but if you are able to find the same clip, and you use in in your PRO ad, then when busy viewers only half-paying attention see the ad, they won't know which ad they're watching... the pro-Kagan or the anti-Kagan.

Maybe what appears stupid actually is not? in that using the same clips serves to neutralize the negative ad by co-opting its imagery and reassigning an opposite meaning to it.

or maybe that's giving too much credit to the DNC...
dunno

I'd like to also take this opportunity to say how infinitely tedious I find the entire Breast Cancer issue, it's so often used as this almost poetically poignant uber-threat that's just supposed to just immobilize women with fear. Cancer anywhere ... well I was gonna say "cancer anywhere sucks" but now I think that may be unfortunate wording. But yeah Cancer=Bad, no need to go all Poetically Pink and Scared Girly all the time. Kinda bugs me.

Cancer of the Kneecap or Nostril would be an equal freak out,
the whole Threat to the Breasts of America thing gets tediously emotastic. I'd like to not see that body part used in political ads, seems tacky. Too obvious and tear-jearky Pink-Ribbon-Pavlovian
OhNoes! not the BREASTS.*gasp*
Just seems lame.
what next? political ads that "peek in" on foot-in-stirrup, flat-on-back Gyno exams?
blaaargh. make it stop.