I note with interest today, John McCain's new tactic of associating Barack Obama with oversexed and/or promiscuous young white women. ... Remember, he hired the operative who put together the Ford/Bimbo ad.
The effectiveness of a political ad is best judged with the sound off. Here we got images of a black man, white female sexpots, and ... I don't know... how many phallic symbol towers are looming in the background?
I know it seems ridiculous, but all of these visual details and sequences are intentional, and they are intended to excite your basest fears and prejudices. If you think I'm crazy or reading into this too far, then you can wait around for the McCain attack ads that associate Obama with male celebrities, or black female celebrities.
While I agree with you on the material presented in this post, I will play a bit of Devil's Advocate here and point out that during the primary I compared Obama campaign events to Hannah Montana concerts without insinuating anything other than that the people in attendance at each type of event appeared similarly air-headed.
This tactic is consistent with Karl Rove-style tactics: strike at an opponents perceived strength, play upon and reinforce the ocean of fear and resentment carried by the 'common folk,' hope that you force a response/"explanation," (rule: if you have to explain, you're losing), and don't give a damn about being truthful. In fact, these ads are best without any "factual" data, which can be refuted. Instead, emphasize attitude, and the media will duly and dutifully report with all the "objectivity" they can muster.
It's as sleazy as can be, but, sadly, it often works: people find it easier to hate and/or resent than to like someone.
If I were running Obama's campaign, I'd respond with a media blizzard that cements John McCain to Bush and Rove, then emphasize that the guy will say just about anything to get elected. If it didn't shame him, it'd at least affix the stench of Bush Republicanism...and that kind of stink doesn't go away.
Disagree that this was a "Call me Barack" ad...the association here is that Obama is all glitz and no substance. I can't think of any male or black female celebrities who are anywhere near as strongly associated with the airhead label as Britney and Paris.
It's an attempt to introduce Obama on a national stage as some sort of vacuous "celebrity" who fame is not based in "real American virtues."
Oddly, McCain uses energy policy in order to distinguish himself. I wouldn't be surprised to see McCain run ads with Obama against images of the desert, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, staged as another attempt to talk about energy. He can't run similar ads about the distinctions between his and Obama's Iraq War policy, because it's an obvious weakness-- which Obama could (and probably will) roundly discredit.
But by couching this whole discussion around energy-- using, of course, the tropes of foreignness, elitism, and unwarranted celebrity as a backdrop, McCain can behave as a "progressive," even though his message is actually an attempt to Otherize Obama.
I agree with bacon and Cenlamar. I think this ad was intentioned to paint Obama as a celebrity and nothing more. To put him into a class far removed from normal Americans. That's really the singularity of using Paris and Britney in the ad.
Especially since all the sexual innuendo you can associate with Obama's campaign was already widely circulated with the "Obama Girl" video. I mean, after that all those images of a sexy young thing falling at the feet of a presidential candidate, they could just play that over and over if their attempt was to play on outrage over white male insecurites.
Anon, cen, and pat: This is not an either/or scenario. Any effective political ad does MANY things at once. It does what you say, sure. But to say it does nothing more than that is to say that McCain's ad guy (Schmidt) is totally incompetent. He's not.
Herbert accused the McCain campaign of including the Washington Monument and Leaning Tower of Pisa in McCain's Celeb Ad as "phallic symbols", along with white women and a black man, to appeal to racism.
The only monument in the Celeb Ad is the Seigessaule that Obama was standing right next to during his Berlin, Germany speech.
Mr. Herbert needs to take a basic history class. Or, he needs an Editor to babysit him--badly. Herbert, Black Radical?
