Sunday, February 03, 2008

political advertising: good and bad

I don't want to start a political flamewar, but I find the contrast between these two political ads very striking:

Obama's Yes, we can - feel-good, inspirational video with lots of stars, excerpts of Obama's NH concession (!) speech.

Clinton's Freefall - be scared! Only we can save you from certain doom!

4 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:34 PM

    be scared! Only we can save you from certain doom!

    Well, the Bush regime has used that successfully ...... so why shouldn't it work for others.

    At least she's not scaring common people by telling them that terrorists are going to bomb some corn field in Illinois.

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  2. Ahh, the politics of fear. It really does amaze me how many people in the US seem to think that terrorists in the tribal regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan may well be plotting to blow up a Walmart in Davenport, Iowa. At the same time, these people don't blink at the fact that 30000 people get killed in the US every year in car accidents.

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  3. Hey, have you seen the new Obama video? It's called Hope Changes Everything and it is located here:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLVN3Trs5VQ

    and for download at www.obamavideo08.com

    It is exactly what you were talking about in this post, about using hope vs. fear to get those votes.

    Pass this along to all supporters...and non-supporters!

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  4. Using hope is no better than using fear, it is just a different form of manipulation. Ever heard the phrase "getting your hopes up" ?

    Will politicians ever stop treating us like children or morons and just talk with us reasonably?

    Yeah, that is a rhetorical question.

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