The funniest political add ever

[Anonymous]

Mostly because he thought it was a good idea!!!



http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/post/a-smoking-bad-ad-for-herman-cain/2011/03/04/gIQAHR1PFM_blog.html

[jsteele]

I'm convinced that ad is Cain's signal that his campaign has been nothing but one big hoax. If you notice, every time Bock says something, he shakes his head "no". So, "Tomorrow is one day closer to the White House" (head shakes, "no"), "I really believe that Herman Cain will put United back in United States of America" (head shakes, "no"), etc. Then, Block concludes by blowing smoke which is all Cain has been doing all along. After that, Cain comes on with a shit-eating grin as if to say, "it's all a joke, folks".

[Anonymous]

Goodness, I hope you are right.

[jsteele]

I just had another thought about this. Regardless of whether Cain is serious about his campaign, he is currently leading national polls for the Republican nomination. I can't believe that the Republican elite is happy about that. Similarly, remember back in 2004 when Howard Dean was doing fairly well in the polls and the Democratic elite was not happy about that. Then the famous "Dean Scream" occurred. In reality, Dean was speaking to a very loud crowd and could barely be heard by most people there. The recording was made by a boom mic held just over his head. So, the recordings provided a very distorted view of Dean's speech. Nevertheless, that episode was used to turn him into a joke and marginalize him for the rest of the campaign.

While there is no escaping the fact that this ad is really bad, is it really so bad as to deserve the nearly endless media attention it is getting? I understand why leftist bloggers might want to poke fun at it. But, I just checked and several right-wing or center-right media outlets are also joking about it. For instance, the NY Daily News headline is "Weird Herman Cain Ad Surfaces On YouTube" and Forbes, "Herman Cain's Campaign Ad Message Goes Up In Smoke". And, then the kicker, Fox News: "Where There’s Smoke, There’s Herman Cain’s New Web Video?" I suspect that there are plenty of Republican operatives (and not just from opposing campaigns) working behind the scenes to encourage this type of reporting. I think Herman Cain is about to get the Howard Dean treatment.

[Anonymous]

OMG!!!
The pictureof him looks too much like Clarence Thomas from that angle.

[Anonymous]

Maybe, JSteele, maybe. Or maybe Cain has produced an add so bad that even the publicans are forced to mock it.

[Anonymous]

I think the "I am not a witch" and the devil in sheepskin are better.

[Anonymous]

To be more precise, it seems to be a political subtract.

[Anonymous]

I'm an atheist but I think I'm about to get religion and believe this guy is an emissary of Belzebuth, between the evil laugh at the end, the name Cain (did he have a brother named Abel by any chance?) and the upside down 666 plan.
Even this Bloch guy looks like some evil character right out of Dexter. Could they not afford some make-up prior to the shoot to cover his leathery, splotchy skin or is the damage from the cigarettes really that bad?

[Anonymous]

I love the ad. A little quirky, sure. But are you talking about it? Was it shown on numerous cable news shows (and what would that have cost?)? Seems to me to be very effective.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:I just had another thought about this. Regardless of whether Cain is serious about his campaign, he is currently leading national polls for the Republican nomination. I can't believe that the Republican elite is happy about that. Similarly, remember back in 2004 when Howard Dean was doing fairly well in the polls and the Democratic elite was not happy about that. Then the famous "Dean Scream" occurred. In reality, Dean was speaking to a very loud crowd and could barely be heard by most people there. The recording was made by a boom mic held just over his head. So, the recordings provided a very distorted view of Dean's speech. Nevertheless, that episode was used to turn him into a joke and marginalize him for the rest of the campaign.

While there is no escaping the fact that this ad is really bad, is it really so bad as to deserve the nearly endless media attention it is getting? I understand why leftist bloggers might want to poke fun at it. But, I just checked and several right-wing or center-right media outlets are also joking about it. For instance, the NY Daily News headline is "Weird Herman Cain Ad Surfaces On YouTube" and Forbes, "Herman Cain's Campaign Ad Message Goes Up In Smoke". And, then the kicker, Fox News: "Where There’s Smoke, There’s Herman Cain’s New Web Video?" I suspect that there are plenty of Republican operatives (and not just from opposing campaigns) working behind the scenes to encourage this type of reporting. I think Herman Cain is about to get the Howard Dean treatment.

I respectfully dissent, Mr. Steele. I think there is something strangely brilliant about that ad. You are trying to understand it intellectually, which is not what it is trying to do. On an atavistic level I think it works, sending the message that Cain is a good guy, with a sense of humor, and a serious political insider who works for him thinks he can win. The cocky smirk Mr. Cain has at the end is effective as well: superficially we can all tut-tut about it, but the underlying messags is one of utter confidence. The smoking is brilliant, and is the most important element of the ad: it guarantees the ad will get lots of attention--there is no greater taboo in public life today than smoking--and shows that Cain has the balls to do whatever the hell he thinks best; it invokes the legendary smoke-filled rooms of yore, suggesting Cain is a realist who knows how the game is played; and is a clever little tweak at President Obama: Mr. Cain is open about the smokers on his campaign, so why the cover-up of Obama's smoking? At least, that's the rumor--I can't say whether it is true or not--but it is a commonplace among the Republican base and Mr. Cain exploits it effectively here.

The media blitz on how horrible the ad is only plays into this: I read lots of coverage about the ad before seeing it, and I thought that it was going to be a catastrophe. When I watched it, I thought it was cheeky but kind of clever. The take-away message: Cain's a lot more clever than you think and than the media is telling you. Viral, name recognition, made a lot of people smile. A net positive. In 15 years we will look back on this ad as a significant milestone in how political candidates use the internet.

I still hope he loses, though, because I think you are correct, he's not ready for prime time as a presidential candidate and that would create a lot of opportunity for Obama to win. I do think he would be a pretty effective VP candidate--ideology aside, wouldn't you rather have him one heartbeat away than Joe Biden? Just until you can unseat him in 2016, of course.

Mr. Cain has clearly become The Most Interesting Candidate In The World. Amusing, and a positive for his campaign, but not enough to close the gap. Romney is not going to blow this.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:
The media blitz on how horrible the ad is only plays into this: I read lots of coverage about the ad before seeing it, and I thought that it was going to be a catastrophe. When I watched it, I thought it was cheeky but kind of clever. The take-away message: Cain's a lot more clever than you think and than the media is telling you. Viral, name recognition, made a lot of people smile. A net positive. In 15 years we will look back on this ad as a significant milestone in how political candidates use the internet.

This is the other side of the coin which I freely admit could exist. It is possible that Cain is smarter than the political insiders, smarter than the media, and smarter than me. If that is the case, you will be proven correct and, in the future, this will be considered a brilliant ad. I've noticed that since I posted, coverage of the ad -- or indeed coverage of Cain at all -- has disappeared. Last night's news was all about Romney and Perry. Why they are covering Perry at 2% in national polls and not Cain who is at about 25% is a mystery (not really).

Just to reiterate, however. I think the ad is pretty bad. But, I don't think it deserves the attention and ridicule it has gotten. I think the ad is being seized upon by the "serious people" to marginalize Cain just as Howard Dean was previously marginalized by "serious people". But, maybe Cain will overcome what Dean didn't.

[Anonymous]

jsteele wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The media blitz on how horrible the ad is only plays into this: I read lots of coverage about the ad before seeing it, and I thought that it was going to be a catastrophe. When I watched it, I thought it was cheeky but kind of clever. The take-away message: Cain's a lot more clever than you think and than the media is telling you. Viral, name recognition, made a lot of people smile. A net positive. In 15 years we will look back on this ad as a significant milestone in how political candidates use the internet.

This is the other side of the coin which I freely admit could exist. It is possible that Cain is smarter than the political insiders, smarter than the media, and smarter than me. If that is the case, you will be proven correct and, in the future, this will be considered a brilliant ad. I've noticed that since I posted, coverage of the ad -- or indeed coverage of Cain at all -- has disappeared. Last night's news was all about Romney and Perry. Why they are covering Perry at 2% in national polls and not Cain who is at about 25% is a mystery (not really).

Just to reiterate, however. I think the ad is pretty bad. But, I don't think it deserves the attention and ridicule it has gotten. I think the ad is being seized upon by the "serious people" to marginalize Cain just as Howard Dean was previously marginalized by "serious people". But, maybe Cain will overcome what Dean didn't.

Oh, I didn't mean to imply that Cain will win. He won't. I just think it was a pretty good ad.

[jsteele]

Anonymous wrote:Oh, I didn't mean to imply that Cain will win. He won't. I just think it was a pretty good ad.

Yeah, I know. But, what I mean is that while there may be a goal of pushing Cain into irrelevancy at this moment, he may overcome that goal. Not necessarily to go on to win, but to remain competitive. But, I think the odds are against him and the effort to marginalize him will likely succeed.

[TheManWithAUsername]

Anonymous wrote:The media blitz on how horrible the ad is only plays into this: I read lots of coverage about the ad before seeing it, and I thought that it was going to be a catastrophe. When I watched it, I thought it was cheeky but kind of clever. The take-away message: Cain's a lot more clever than you think and than the media is telling you. Viral, name recognition, made a lot of people smile. A net positive. In 15 years we will look back on this ad as a significant milestone in how political candidates use the internet.

I think you're giving them way too much credit. If Block was just some random weirdo, maybe.

As for there being no such thing as bad advertising, there was a lot of talk about the Gingrich campaign early on, too.