Here are my thoughts on this ad, as I’m the one with the site focused on McCain. Hopefully, my analysis might be of some interest even to those of you who are enthusiastically interested in other candidates, due to the techniques involved in the ad…
Before I begin, props to LJ for posting it, of course – nice job. It’ll go on my site and I’ll give you credit for posting it here.
1) The most striking part of it for me, was the lack of visual images (or clutter). Most campaign ads, especially positive ones, tend to flood the viewer with rich images of sunny days and flag waving and gladhanding candidates. This was really minimalist. The candidate is against a dark background w/ a dark suit and a blue tie. The only graphics that appear in it are theme words (”government reform”, etc.)
2) The fact that it is 60 seconds long, rather than 30. I wonder if a viewer’s attention can be held for longer than 30 seconds. I speculate that since most nonpolitical ads are also 30 seconds, it stands to reason that ad professionals have studied this and concluded that anything beyond 30 seconds is too much to ask of them. Also, given the campaign’s lack of money, I’m surprised that they would shell out for a full minute ad, since I’m sure it’s more expensive than a 30 second one.
3) It goes back to the fact that the main message is McCain himself. (For other candidates, that is rarely the case.) You don’t see him interacting with third parties, touring a neighborhood, etc. The clear purpose seems to be that it’s the closest thing they could devise, to his actually meeting every Republican and independent voter in NH.
4) He hits his usual foils (the bridge to nowhere, peanut storage), but I don’t think that the campaign cares about the voter remembering those things. Previous ads, in contrast, actually showed a picture of a bridge that represented it. They didn’t bother including the image this time, which makes me think that the message is a concise:
“I’m the McCain you remember. I’ve made some enemies in DC, but I don’t care, since doing the right thing is more important to me, than being popular.”
Thoughts, reactions, etc. are, of course, welcome…
To me all these ads are about is to make you think more positively about the candidate after watching than before.
Adds that attack don’t work well.
Adds that try to make you explicitly change your mind don’t work well.
After this add, I thought more positivity about John McCain. He’s already my Senator, while I won’t and didn’t suddenly fall into his camp for president. I think this was a net positive ad.
I think the barrage of holiday political ads are just really going to desensitize potential voters. First, most people are thinking about other things over the holidays (that’s why our favorite TV series go on hiatus over the holidays), and the sheer volume of the ads in the early states is going to be too much to internalize. I really don’t see the TV ads having much effect anymore. It’s too late, given the time of year.
Not too bad. McCain is right about him making everybody angry. Problem is, he’s made several Republicans angry whose votes he now needs. Immigration, campaign & finance reform to name a couple.
Leave SDGOP alone. How long have you been around? We all get tired of Metro, in fact I had really enjoyed the last 4 days w/out him. But, I guess paradise can only last so long.
RayinNH Says: Leave SDGOP alone. How long have you been around? We all get tired of Metro, in fact I had really enjoyed the last 4 days w/out him. But, I guess paradise can only last so long.
Has it been 4 days? It feels like it’s just been a few hours.
Has anyone noticed Metro can’t make a comment without injecting Romney somewhere in it? How sad, I never thought Romney would scare someone so bad, but I guess when your man Rudy is fearing him just as much- it is expected. I just think it shows a glaring weakness and makes you look desperate.
Like I said, it’s going to be candidate ad after candidate ad the next 5 weeks – is any one of them going to really make a difference? It’s too late, and it’s a bad time of year.
[...] On Monday, November 26, LJ of Race42008.com posted Senator McCain’s latest TV ad in New Hampshire, titled “Love America Enough.” It runs for 60 seconds. You can watch the ad by clicking here. [...]
Just because a Romney supporter doesn’t like an ad doesn’t turn the entire thread into a Romney piece. If Tommy Oliver didn’t like the ad would that then make this thread a bash Thompson piece or how about Rett and the Huckster? No and No. Metro attacks Romney whenever he can and he doesn’t need a reason or a relevant post to do it.
EGS – we are disagreeing heavily in that other post but over here I must say that even 1 day w/out Metro comments feels like a blessed eternity. I will forever savor the Thanksgiving weekend as a weekend w/out Metro and amazingly non-confrontational, productive political back and forth.
I agree–some people just can’t talk about the posted topic. Metro and Sampo are who first come to mind. Ok you don’t like Mitt, we get it!! If you want to talk about your points for disliking him go ahead, in a posted topic about him. But wow when it comes out like this it just seems like unreasoned, ignorant hate.
On topic–this is a pretty good ad. #2-I agree that ads are supposed to make you feel better about the canidate than before and this ad does that very well. Much more effective than negative ads.
I have to say that, although I’m under no illusion as to the limits of the tactical successes in Iraq, I didn’t expect the surge to be this effective at reducing violence, because I trusted Petraeus’ previous metrics. But McCain was right, and he deserves credit for it. I find myself wanting him to be the nominee more and more. He’s deserved it.
THIS is why McCain has broad appeal. Even the most anti-war people trust him on Iraq.
November 26th, 2007 at 12:48 pm
Hello, all-
Here are my thoughts on this ad, as I’m the one with the site focused on McCain. Hopefully, my analysis might be of some interest even to those of you who are enthusiastically interested in other candidates, due to the techniques involved in the ad…
Before I begin, props to LJ for posting it, of course – nice job. It’ll go on my site and I’ll give you credit for posting it here.
1) The most striking part of it for me, was the lack of visual images (or clutter). Most campaign ads, especially positive ones, tend to flood the viewer with rich images of sunny days and flag waving and gladhanding candidates. This was really minimalist. The candidate is against a dark background w/ a dark suit and a blue tie. The only graphics that appear in it are theme words (”government reform”, etc.)
2) The fact that it is 60 seconds long, rather than 30. I wonder if a viewer’s attention can be held for longer than 30 seconds. I speculate that since most nonpolitical ads are also 30 seconds, it stands to reason that ad professionals have studied this and concluded that anything beyond 30 seconds is too much to ask of them. Also, given the campaign’s lack of money, I’m surprised that they would shell out for a full minute ad, since I’m sure it’s more expensive than a 30 second one.
3) It goes back to the fact that the main message is McCain himself. (For other candidates, that is rarely the case.) You don’t see him interacting with third parties, touring a neighborhood, etc. The clear purpose seems to be that it’s the closest thing they could devise, to his actually meeting every Republican and independent voter in NH.
4) He hits his usual foils (the bridge to nowhere, peanut storage), but I don’t think that the campaign cares about the voter remembering those things. Previous ads, in contrast, actually showed a picture of a bridge that represented it. They didn’t bother including the image this time, which makes me think that the message is a concise:
“I’m the McCain you remember. I’ve made some enemies in DC, but I don’t care, since doing the right thing is more important to me, than being popular.”
Thoughts, reactions, etc. are, of course, welcome…
November 26th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
To me all these ads are about is to make you think more positively about the candidate after watching than before.
Adds that attack don’t work well.
Adds that try to make you explicitly change your mind don’t work well.
After this add, I thought more positivity about John McCain. He’s already my Senator, while I won’t and didn’t suddenly fall into his camp for president. I think this was a net positive ad.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Very good ad. McCain is really on a roll lately, in the sense that he hasn’t been attacked, and is quietly improving his position where he needs to.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:07 pm
I think the barrage of holiday political ads are just really going to desensitize potential voters. First, most people are thinking about other things over the holidays (that’s why our favorite TV series go on hiatus over the holidays), and the sheer volume of the ads in the early states is going to be too much to internalize. I really don’t see the TV ads having much effect anymore. It’s too late, given the time of year.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Not too bad. McCain is right about him making everybody angry. Problem is, he’s made several Republicans angry whose votes he now needs. Immigration, campaign & finance reform to name a couple.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
I saw this ad on Friday – wow R’42008 is falling behind in getting these ads up in a timely manner.
November 26th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Not a fan of this ad. The music was pretty dumb- at almost made me wonder when he was going to cut in and say “Live from New York…”
The other thing is I think he makes some good points, but the whole thing sounds like he is trying a bit too hard here.
November 26th, 2007 at 2:12 pm
This is a fantastic ad. Authenticity. That which Romney is incapable of.
November 26th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
Brilliant in that it takes his main negative (two, actually, his temper and his sabotage of Republican initiatives), and turns them into a positive.
November 26th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Metro,
Are you capable of making a comment without somehow attacking Romney?
November 26th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
SDGOP,
Leave Metro alone, he’s only giving his opinion, and frankly i think alot of people see Romney as a phony.
November 26th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
The only thing wrong with this ad in my opinion is that he goes after the pentagon
November 26th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Bryan,
Leave SDGOP alone. How long have you been around? We all get tired of Metro, in fact I had really enjoyed the last 4 days w/out him. But, I guess paradise can only last so long.
November 26th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
RayinNH Says:
Leave SDGOP alone. How long have you been around? We all get tired of Metro, in fact I had really enjoyed the last 4 days w/out him. But, I guess paradise can only last so long.
Has it been 4 days? It feels like it’s just been a few hours.
November 26th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Frankly I think alot of people see Metro as a phony
November 26th, 2007 at 3:03 pm
Has anyone noticed Metro can’t make a comment without injecting Romney somewhere in it? How sad, I never thought Romney would scare someone so bad, but I guess when your man Rudy is fearing him just as much- it is expected. I just think it shows a glaring weakness and makes you look desperate.
November 26th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
Follow-up to my post #1-
It turns out there is also a thirty-second version (I had noted in the original comment that I was surprised that it was 60 seconds.)
November 26th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
Like I said, it’s going to be candidate ad after candidate ad the next 5 weeks – is any one of them going to really make a difference? It’s too late, and it’s a bad time of year.
November 26th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
[...] On Monday, November 26, LJ of Race42008.com posted Senator McCain’s latest TV ad in New Hampshire, titled “Love America Enough.” It runs for 60 seconds. You can watch the ad by clicking here. [...]
November 26th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
bjalder you’re a med student aren’t you?
November 26th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
I made my point about metro because this thread has nothing to do with Romney and he proceeded to dump on him anyway.
November 26th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
It became about Romney when MyManMitt blogger bashed the ad.
November 26th, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Just because a Romney supporter doesn’t like an ad doesn’t turn the entire thread into a Romney piece. If Tommy Oliver didn’t like the ad would that then make this thread a bash Thompson piece or how about Rett and the Huckster? No and No. Metro attacks Romney whenever he can and he doesn’t need a reason or a relevant post to do it.
EGS – we are disagreeing heavily in that other post but over here I must say that even 1 day w/out Metro comments feels like a blessed eternity. I will forever savor the Thanksgiving weekend as a weekend w/out Metro and amazingly non-confrontational, productive political back and forth.
November 26th, 2007 at 7:02 pm
J SMith,
If you read my comments I bashed the style of the ad itself not McCAin’s points. I have liked a lot of other things by McCain.
But yes I am allowed to have an opinion.
November 26th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
I agree–some people just can’t talk about the posted topic. Metro and Sampo are who first come to mind. Ok you don’t like Mitt, we get it!! If you want to talk about your points for disliking him go ahead, in a posted topic about him. But wow when it comes out like this it just seems like unreasoned, ignorant hate.
On topic–this is a pretty good ad. #2-I agree that ads are supposed to make you feel better about the canidate than before and this ad does that very well. Much more effective than negative ads.
November 26th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
It was a pretty good ad. I still think he is airing these ads way too late. He just can’t win the nomination anymore. He didn’t play the game right.
November 26th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
great ad from our next president.
November 26th, 2007 at 7:41 pm
from andrew sullivan:
I have to say that, although I’m under no illusion as to the limits of the tactical successes in Iraq, I didn’t expect the surge to be this effective at reducing violence, because I trusted Petraeus’ previous metrics. But McCain was right, and he deserves credit for it. I find myself wanting him to be the nominee more and more. He’s deserved it.
THIS is why McCain has broad appeal. Even the most anti-war people trust him on Iraq.