I'm in MD and I just heard the Obama radio ad directed at women...

[Captain Hilts]

I thought the text was GREAT!

I think the execution STINKS! Why?

The ad starts with Obama's terrfic, strong voice, then it switches to a woman's voice for a 'woman to women' kind of chat. The woman's voice is one of those whispers that you hear in feminine hygiene commercials. I HATE the way women's voices are used in television ads in whispers. Maddening! I'm disappointed they did it here too.

Then, Obama's voice comes back on and, again, it makes the woman's tone of voice sound totally wimpy.

[rhombus]

1. Is it the same as the TV ad?

I know he has a tv ad.

[Captain Hilts]

2. I don't know - I haven't seen it. I'll keep an eye peeled. nt

[AspenRose]

3. Ah, but the whisper forces you to strain in to hear what's being said

[Expedition924]

4. And that is why more women

need to be elected to higher office; people will listen to them.

[DevonRex]

5. Hey Mookie, are you a man or a woman? I see your point about

the way women's voices are used sometimes. But I wonder if they've done some sort of study about how women in general react to soft spoken women in TV ads. So maybe there's something we don't know. Personally, I prefer strong voices too.

Oh, another thing! I wonder if it is meant to contrast with that screech of Palin. Her voice just grates on my nerves no end.

I haven't heard it, so I can't pass any judgment on it. But I understand where you're coming from. Can't wait to hear it, so thanks for the heads up.

[Captain Hilts]

6. You are most welcome!

The Mook is a member of the falopian forest.

And - my comments about voice were not meant to criticize the ad - but rather, the general way women talk and are depicted in MSM that reflect our different preferences and expectations about each sex. I've done political ad testing, so I'm sure they tested it.

Keep the Faith!

[DevonRex]

7. LOL, falopian forest. Hee hee! :)

[Captain Hilts]

8. I added to my comment...check it out...

[sandnsea]

9. Check out this ad

You will love it, I know I did. For the exact reason you stated. This hits back at the nastiest sleaze ad by Gordon Smith that came out after he fell behind in the polls.

http://www.jeffmerkley.com/2008/09/new_ad_shameles_1.php

[Waiting For Everyman]

10. Hello from MD too.

:hi:

I didn't hear it though unfortunately, but I agree with you on that kind of voice.

[Captain Hilts]

12. You live dangerously close to the Shamrock Motel and Restaurant!

Does anybody eat there, or only right wing cranks?

[Waiting For Everyman]

16. I'm not up on it, but I'd say just the RWC.

[Orangepeel]

11. I don't think it is just "a woman." It's Kate Michaelman, isn't it?

If it's the same ad that I heard (on a DC station -- Obama's not wasting much money in Maryland), the woman's voice was a particular woman, who was chosen for her profile, not her voice (lifetime activist, former president of NARAL). I understand that not everyone knows who she is, but everyone who hears the ad hears her voice. But still...

[Captain Hilts]

13. INTERESTING! I have no idea. Can anyone confirm this?

[Orangepeel]

14. I'm not sure...

I was excited when I heard the ad (I'm in MD, too, and, as you know, we don't get many). I did notice that I had the radio on a DC station that must reach parts of Virginia.

I THOUGHT that it said it was Kate Michelman, but I wouldn't bet the house on it.

[Captain Hilts]

15. I think it's a good ad and I hope it IS a TV ad too... nt

[H2O Man]

17. I always look

forward to reading your contributions on DU. You provide a curious and unique point of view. I find myself either strongly agreeing or disagreeing with you, but always appreciating your keen mind.

[Captain Hilts]

22. I play Devil's Advocate a lot. We don't learn enough from agreeing with folks.

People have a tendency to look to discussion boards for affirmation rather than information. We need to consciously step outside ourselves now and then, so I do that here.

Keep up the Good Fight!

[treestar]

18. DUers not liking ads means nothing

It's the reaction to the voters aimed at that matters. The DUers who complain would not know what they were doing if in charge of the ads. Not everyone likes the same things. Those swing voters out there might like this ad and I'll go with the campaign's opinion on that rather than the random complaints of high strung DUers. Must we find something to complain about over every ad?

[Captain Hilts]

20. That's very true, that's why I noted that they've obviously tested this ad. It's not aimed at me.nt

[Teaser]

19. I'm sure they test these things out the wazoo.

Yours may be a minority opinion, but who knows?

[Captain Hilts]

21. I've done political ad testing and I'm sure they did. I liked the text very much.

They're doing it the way Madison Ave does it, and there are reasons Mad Ave. does it that way.

[GoneOffShore]

23. The use of that sort of voice is highly effective.

Ask any good media consultant who produces these things.

Question - was she using a down turning tone, as well?

[Captain Hilts]

24. Yes, it's a comment on our society that this is the way women's voices are used...

not on the campaign. They're doing what tests effecitvely.

I'm not sure what you mean by a "down turning tone." She didn't talk like a Valley Girl with question intonation.

[GoneOffShore]

25. Down turning tone - the sound of negative

Listen to the guy doing some of the McCain ads. He could make ordering trout, with the lemon sauce, sound like it was a "bad thing". Very difficult to convey the "sound of negative" in print, but it's amazing when you hear someone who has really mastered it doing it.

There are several voice people who record those types of spots for the Repugs and then tithe to the Democratic Party as penance.

[Captain Hilts]

26. The tone of voice changed depending on what was being said. I guess that's a good thing...

The R's have used those same damned voices for so long I have learned to just tune them out, even when it's an ad for something completely non-political.

I'll listen really closely next time.