New to DU. Ads for Download. Need Advice, Help, Comments.

[bigpathpaul]

(I'm new to DU. Hope this is proper place for this post. If not, please let me know).

I've been designing and creating a series of ads on my site at: http://www.bigpath.net.
The main focus of the ads is drawing attention to Republican misinformation and media bias. Rather than a long explanation here, I've placed low-resolution reduced-size samples below. However, all of the ads on the site are 8-1/2 x 11 high-resolution PDFs and JPEGs.

I'd like to have DUers review these. The response I've gotten from replies I posted in individual forums has been overwhelmingly positive. However, I want to be sure I have the right tone, because the last thing I want to do is lose a single vote for us. A few notes:

1. Negativity: Although I've clearly gone negative on Bush/Cheney, I wrap up every new ad with a call to action to "Elect Kerry, Edwards and a Democratic Congress. (There are some older ones there where I did not do this). I've also begun adding a few ads that are more "upbeat" although are much less fun to create.

2. If you think the ads are worthwhile, please do whatever you can to spread them around. I know how strong the DU community is -- before I joined DU on Sunday (3 days ago!), my site had a grand total of 796 hits. Since adding samples to pages I've posted to here, the number of hits as of this minute is 13,962!

3. I welcome comments, criticism, whatever you've got. I'm a one-man operation working a 60-hour "day job" and doing this in my spare time. So, I'm working in a vacuum. Any and all help is appreciated.

4. I'm unclear on the email rules here, but please feel free to contact me directly either through DU or the Contact link on http://www.bigpath.net.

5. I will do anything and everything to drive this corrupt administration from power, but I want to do it honestly, so while some of the ads may be harsh, I've tried hard to stick to facts as much as possible. I am passionate about reinforcing Democratic ideals and holding the media accountable.

Thanks to everyone who has already made me feel very welcome here.













The ads above, as well as others, are available as free, full-size, high-resolution JPEG or PDF downloads on my web site at http://www.bigpath.net. I hope you'll find them useful, and if you do, please forward, print, post, handout, carrier pigeon them to as many people as you can.

[TOhioLiberal]

1. Hi Bigpathpaul...

first of all, welcome to DU. :hi: I hope you enjoy our little community. Second, those posters ROCK! I'll be checking out your website to see the hi-res versions. Keep up the good work. :yourock:

[reprehensor]

2. Nice!

Good stuff!

Welcome aboard!

Stay away from the DU Lounge! You may never make it out...

[Hepburn]

3. Hi, and welcome!!

I am not an oldie like many on here, kind of a newbie myself, but so nice to see someone new. Hope you enjoy DU - I think the people here are just grand.

BTW: Your posters do totally rock!! Thanks for sharing them.

[lunarboy13]

4. Welcome to DU!

Awesome posters! :hi:

[reprehensor]

5. Typo.

On the Fraud poster, you have;

"strutted across the deck the USS Abraham"

Should be:

"strutted across the deck of the USS Abraham"

[reprehensor]

10. Typo 2

On the Fraud poster, you have;

"We now know of a fact that there was no credible connection between"

Should be;

"We now know for a fact that there..."

[reprehensor]

11. Typo - Fiction poster.

You have:

"In order to restore our nation’s credibility we must:"

Should be:

"...we must have:"

[reprehensor]

12. HOPE poster...

You have:

"And, as importatnt, they have..."

Would be a bit smoother as...

"And, they have..."


(If you want a serious critique of your copy, my wife is a Tech Writer, she knows her phrasing.)

[bigpathpaul]

13. To Eagle-Eyed Typo Spotters

Thanks. That's what happens when I try to edit my own copy at the end of a 15 hour day.

I've just finished updating all the downloads and HTML text. Hopefully I got everything.

If anyone is interested in reviewing for content, facts and/or typos before I go "live" with this stuff, please let me know. It would be a tremendous help and also prevent embarrassing mistakes that could diminish credibility. I could email you a PDF draft for markup and suggestions in advance. My goal is try to do at least one of these a day between now and the election, with content based on what's current.

[Stephanie]

16. I like the way Gen. Clark put it

Bush "pranced around in a flight suit"! Still cracks me up.

[Armstead]

6. Brilliant ads.

Those are about the best I've seen anywhere. Straight talk, strong but also mature and professional.

You've probably been told this before, but you should contact and send copies to places like MoveOn.org and other progressive websites like The Nation and TomPaine and offer them, to them for use.

You might even send them to the Kerry campaign and DNC. Some of them would be appropriate for them to use.

[bigpathpaul]

15. I'm going to take your advice...

re: "but you should contact and send copies to places like MoveOn.org and other progressive websites like The Nation and TomPaine and offer them, to them for use..."

I've toyed with and pooh-poohed the idea, but now that my head is a little more swollen, I'm going to do it.

Thanks for push.

[cheshire]

7. Welcome and the posters are eyepopping great graphics.

[Fridays Child]

8. Those are awesome--truly inspired!

Welcome, welcome to DU! I downloaded all of the jpegs. They even got their own folder. :) Believe me, everyone on my lists will see these.

[mike_c]

9. excellent work-- I've bookmarked your home page...

...and I'll print and distribute your ads. Very nice graphic style-- I presume you design professionally during your day job? I love the clean images and uncluttered presentation. Thanks for posting these.

[bigpathpaul]

14. Thanks everyone. And my day job...

... to answer Mike's question: Yes, full-time, self-employed graphic designer for nearly 20 years. As much as I appreciate my clients, though, I'd really rather do nothing but this all day. It's a tough balancing act.

[Stephanie]

17. Welcome to DU

You've found the right place.