Not a Maverick (New Obama Ad)

Here is a new Obama ad:



If you change the time of an event and need to announce it you shouldn't say the old time. For instance, "The event is no longer at 6:30 it's now 7" leaves people much less confused than "the event is at 7, an earlier announcement was wrong, apologies." After an hour or two, people sometimes remember the two times but not which is right.

Along those lines, I like the macro message but the micro message sucks. They say maverick many times with pictures of Palin and McCain. Subconsciously this supports the Republican messaging. Better would have been to say, "these guys aren't mavericks at all. they are typical politicians." When they show the lobbyists say "typical politicians are advised by high-priced corporate lobbyists." When they show Palin on the bridge to nowhere say she is a typical flip-flopper. We need alternative frames. If we try to frame them as "not mavericks" we stand a poor chance of getting our messaging to stick.

We need counter-messaging. Perhaps we could create a variation, how about Palin is a "maverick from the truth." If that stuck, every time she says I'm a maverick, people think "or is she a liar?"

I'd like to see McCain as a "typical republican." That ad could have some guys in rocking chairs sadly lamenting, saying things like "remember years ago when McCain used to be bipartisan." "What has he done since winning the nomination that is any different from any Republican?" "Well I suppose he has more lobbyists than Bush." "Too bad he is just a typical Republican." "What a shame."