McCain's Ad Formula Employs Lowest Common Denominator

[DeepModem Mom]

WP: McCain's Ad Formula Employs Lowest Common Denominator
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, August 1, 2008; Page A04

RACINE, Wis., July 31 -- In a celebrity-driven culture that has left little space for John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate has decided to go tabloid. By featuring Paris Hilton and Britney Spears in an attack ad against Barack Obama, the senator from Arizona has risked charges of silliness to draw attention to his frequently overshadowed campaign.

And on one level, it has worked: Television, with its love of pop culture, has replayed the spot hundreds of times, and the NBC, MSNBC and Fox morning shows had aides to McCain and Obama debating it Thursday. At the same time, analysts questioned what message McCain was sending by interspersing footage of his Democratic opponent before a huge crowd in Berlin with that of two socialites famous for their irresponsible antics....

The commercial, which calls Obama "the biggest celebrity in the world," reflects frustration with the sizable imbalance in media coverage, with the senator from Illinois featured in recent weeks in People, Us Weekly and Rolling Stone and on "Access Hollywood." Unable to compete on that playing field, McCain operatives have taken to mocking Obama's global fame....

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Despite the media criticism, the ads have forced Obama to play defense on such issues as his opposition to offshore oil drilling, which McCain opposed in his 2000 campaign but now supports. "Every time they put up a negative ad, we're going to respond with the force of truth," said Burton, the Obama spokesman.

Even some McCain allies have winced at the Paris/Britney spot. Republican strategist Dan Schnur, a former McCain adviser, said that "most voters won't see the parallels between a presidential candidate and two party girls. So a legitimate point about inexperience gets lost in the appearance of name-calling." Still, McCain has succeeded in using meager ad buys to generate free news coverage....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/01/AR2008080102965.html