I Hate To Spoil The Love-In, But The "Eagle" Ad Is Weak

[Harlan James]

The GOP "Wolves" ad, as sick as it is, names names and assigns blame. If you didn't know that the "Eagle" ad was being put out by the DNC (And outside of guys like us, who really does? Or knows what a DNC is for that matter?), you wouldn't really know what that bird is soaring about. It could as easily be taken for a Republican ad as a Democratic one.

Kind of reminds me of what a college professor I had once said about "reality creation." A bunch of people meet in a room day after day and discuss issues, and then at night go home and discuss those meetings with their wives, and maybe a few friends over the weekend. And in time the meeting attendees begin to arrive at a consensus opinion, one they feel very confident about. And why the confidence? Because everyone they know is saying it.

The "Eagle" ad is an in-the-know ad. And those are not the sorts of people we need to worry about at this point.

The barbarians are at the gate, and what we need now are spiked clubs and boiling tar, not thoughtful metaphors for the folks back at the home office.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

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[Birthmark]

2. Uh-huh

And Republicans seem to be genetically inclined to project their problems on others. Hey! How are those WMDs in Iraq that 75% of Republicans believe are there? See? THAT's reality creation! :)

[Libby2]

3. No, you don't

If this is all you have to complain about, you're in good shape.

Bye bye.....

[Teaser]

4. Better than "Scary puppies"

The crossfire audience laughed at the Bush Cheney ad.
They *laughed*.
And I'm laughing at you.

[LynnTheDem]

5. These aren't just ANY wolves, people!

These are alien wolves from Mars, you little bitches!

Wait till they get ahold of your leg! We'll see who's laughing then!
-Karl Rove

[vickie]

14. Did Rove really say this?

[LynnTheDem]

16. Probably.

For sure he was thinking it. :D

No he didn't really say this, far as I know.

[Alexander]

6. Non-partisanship makes for an effective ad, sir...

The key to the "Eagle" ad is exactly what you said - that it looks like it could be put out by anybody.

The "Wolves" ad is laughable - and I say this as someone who personally went to Bush's website, expected a really hard-hitting, devastating ad, and literally laughed at it - the wolves just aren't threatening. How many victims are there of wolf attacks? How many people own big, friendly dogs that are reminiscent, even if only in their family of creature, to the wolf?

What Kerry sees is an opportunity to appeal to everyone - liberal, moderate, and conservative. He sees - rightly so - that we're not being led by any of these groups. We're being led by the neo-conservatives, who are really a nutty bunch without many die-hard followers. Plus the eagle is the quintessential American animal, and the commercial serves to portray Kerry as very "pro-America", as opposed to falling into the "blame America first" crowd that the right wing crows about, and keeps trying to associate Kerry with, through the Jane Fonda and anti-war rally nonsense.

[Harlan James]

9. It just doesn't make the sale

You and I might find the 'Wolves' thing laughable, but we are not the target audience. The people who that ad is is intended for barely pay attention to politics, have only a rudimentary understanding of world events, and can only find the energy or interest to vote once every 4 years.

In other words, the majority.

We need to club people over the heads at this point. 95% know who they will vote for now, this is all about the remaining 5%. That is who the "wolves' thing is aimed at. Our ad only speaks to those who have already arrived at the right decision. It is comfort food.

How about something with some meat on it? How about Bush's 42% vacation rate prior to 9-11? When the wolves were at the door in 2001 Bush the mighty terrorist hunter was out playing golf.

Dare we say dereliction of duty?

[secular_warrior]

7. "the Democratic National Committee is responsible for the content

of this advertisement."

Who's responsible for the ad is clearly stated at the end.

It is a powerful ad because it says so much with so little, and is easy to remember. This is the type of ad that cuts through the clutter, IMO.

No "groupthink" here with me. I always criticize the campaign, and I'd be the first say so if this ad sucked.

[Chomskyite]

8. As I've been saying for months . . .

. . . we need the goddam My Pet Goat ads and we need them run in every swing state NOW.

[clydefrand]

11. I agree and I've sent emails suggesting it

I only hope this will be the longest and best ad of the season. Maybe George Sorros will buy 7 minutes airtime for the DEMS for this ad. ;-) Wishful thinking, I know, I know...

[clydefrand]

10. Even the lowliest "barbarian" knows the significance

of the Eagle for this country and they also know the meaning of the ostrich with its head in the sand.

Furthermore, the wolves are mighty animals that travel with their families...JUST THINK: FAMILY VALUES

AND Wolves hunt for food, which is their God-given nature (again, VALUES), not to destroy our environment, our country's resources including our human ones sent to war because of lies and more lies, and they are the ancestors of MAN'S BEST FRIEND. However, they are predators that help to keep other animal populations in check.

In that sense then, BUSH is a predator...only he is responsible for the killing of our innocent people in the military and thousands upon thousands of innocent Iraqis NOT the terrorists. And he will further his predatory actions if he is elected. How many lives need to be lost because he doesn't even know the meaning of reality?

I think the use of wolves as a metaphor of the terrorists was ill-conceived. People don't generally have a negative image of the wolf. Maybe some macho rancher like Bush...? Hope they bite where it will do the most good.

A bit of sarcasm scattered amid the facts.

[samadams]

12. You are over analyzing this,

As Harlan said, we are not the target of the add. Any undecideds at this point are undecided because they dont pay a lot of attention. We need to put something in their face, grab them by their metaphoric lapels and shake them a little.

[newyawker99]

13. Hi samadams!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Starlight]

20. I disagree.

I think we need to forget about wasting huge amounts of time & money trying to convert people who are unlikely to vote for Kerry and just make sure every single Kerry supporter actually makes it to the polls & gets his vote counted accurately.

BTW, I think the eagle ad is truly powerful & inspiring. And like I said on another thread, I'd love to see that eagle become a mascot for the Democratic party and appear EVERYWHERE until people automatically think "Democrat" when they see a soaring eagle. :)

[William Seger]

15. I don't think it's targeted at uninformed undecided

People who, at this stage, are both undecided and unable to figure out the significance of the ad are going to be just a coin toss, anyway. I think it's targeted at the "weak Bush" voters, who shouldn't have any trouble understanding the meaning of the ad, and I think it's effective. The picture of the ostrich says, "Is this really what you want to vote for?"

[tedoll78]

17. Riiiight..

I was at a doctor's offce yesterday, and the Puppies, err, Wolves ad come on the waiting room televison. Someone recognized it and said something aloud, prompting pretty much everyone to watch the ad. At the end, a few people were LAUGHING at the ad. I was in the back office watching the patients in there, and it warmed my heart to no end.

Th eagle ad? Kerry's been pounding this theme of Bush being out-of-reality for a while now. If a voter has been paying attention, my bet is that they'll recognize the theme. Further, I give the Eagle ad for at least being (intentionally) humorous: when you can get the voters to laugh with you against your opponent, a certain degree of shame is placed on the idea of voting for the opponent. And when someone is laughing with you, they get more comfortable with you, and thus more likely to vote for you.

Whomever wrote the Eagle ad seems to understand these things.

[sandnsea]

18. The eagle can change course

Put out by the DNC. No matter the perception of the first ad, by the third time a viewer sees it, they'll get the point. Everybody knows Bush won't admit mistakes or acknowledge problems. In all advertising, it takes at least 3 views for it to register anyway. By the 3rd view of this ad, it's point is clear. By the 5th or 6th view, the viewer is saying "yes, we're strong enough in this country to admit errors and change direction, it's a strength, not a weakness". And vote for Kerry. It's a great ad.

[fugop]

21. I like it

I think the eagle ad is far better than the wolves. Reminds me much more of the Reagan bear ad. No one had to point out what the bear represented. No one needed to wonder what represented Reagan. The ad gave no political specifics, which is what made it chilling. That's wherethe wolves ad fails. That ad will turn off approx. half the voters as soon as the voiceover begins and lets on that it's clearly a GOP attack ad.

The beauty of the bear is that you had to watch the whole thing to find out who sponsored it.

Same with the eagle ad. You don't know until the end. Then you think about it. Perfect.

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

19. The wolves ad is not scary and that's why it fails

The eagle ad is funny and that's why it works.

It is one ad in a mix. The DNC is pumping out ads faster than the GOP pumps out lies. So what if that one didn't get you? Another one will. Don't hang all your hopes on 30 seconds of air.

The point is that the Kerry camp is responding to all Bush tactics in a lightning-fast time frame.

BTW the wolves ad comes about two months too late to make the impact it could have made. It's also very poorly edited. No closeups of baleful eyes or dripping fangs. Just not effective at all.