AdFreak launches blog for Election '08 ads

For those interested in chewing more fat carved from the old lipsticked pig of politics, check out CampaignFreak, our new Campaign 2008 advertising blog. From now until the election in November (and possibly beyond, unless we prove too lazy), most of our thoughts, observations and petty rants about political ads will appear over there. Also, the site will double as a gallery of sexy Jessica Alba bondage pics, so what are you waiting for?

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on September 11, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Campaign '08, Nudd, Political ads

Sarah Palin footage both sides might enjoy

Following the surprise announcement of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as John McCain's VP pick, you can bet the Democrats are feverishly at work on a response ad. I'll personally be surprised if they pass up this footage of Palin firing an assault rifle. Then again, I'd be just as surprised if the GOP didn't use it. (In fact, I first found the scene at the 25-second mark of this "Palin for VP" video on YouTube.) Obama's camp might use the shots to offset the maternal image that could lure Hillary supporters. McCain's people might see it as a great symbol of Palin's lifelong support for the NRA. Guns and military regalia always make for an interesting divide in political races. Conservative Margaret Thatcher got a popular boost from riding around in a tank, but liberal Michael Dukakis was hammered for similar footage—proving that an anti-military legislative record trumps actual service in the U.S. Army. Then, of course, there was Bush's iconic flight-suit moment, which became a divisive image largely because of its role as a prelude to "Mission accomplished." So what do you think? Will the Democracts go the boring route and talk about things like ethics investigations, or will they come out guns a-blazin'?

—Posted by David Griner

Published on August 29, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (16)
Filed under Campaign '08, Griner, Political ads

Take cover from Jet Angel's branding ideas

If the company's for real (and I'm praying it isn't), Jet Angel's business model consists in large part of slapping client ad messages on decommissioned military equipment and parking these once-fearsome war machines in front of children's hospitals. Yeah, that'll boost a brand's image. To hype itself in the political season, Jet Angel apparently drove McCain and Obama missiles around Manhattan and Washington, D.C., aimed them at local landmarks and sent the resulting pictures to the press. (See more pics here.) If the whole thing is a joke—i.e., an attempt at ironic humor or satire—it fails to meet the demands of the post-South Park era. (I know the show's still on, but who watches anymore?) In the illustration on the company's site, the hospital should be in ruins and the nurses' hair on fire as they run screaming past the corporate-logo-emblazoned weaponry. The street-campaign should be Photoshopped to show the buildings ablaze—and why not toss in a Flogo Godzilla? My point: Real or not, Jet Angel, you bombed either way.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on August 29, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Campaign '08, Gianatasio, Non-traditional

Twin Cities urged to be nice to Republicans

While all political eyes are now on the Democrats in Denver, the Twin Cities are getting ready for the Republican conclave next week in St. Paul. And Minneapolis agency Campbell Mithun is getting into the act with a campaign developed with Hungry Man Productions, and launched via the UnConvention Web site, that urges the locals in this traditionally Democratic state (or, more precisely, Democratic-Farmer-Labor state) to be gracious hosts. Republican delegates who check out the Web site's video and the posters may wonder how sincere the welcome is. But after the treatment their party is getting in Denver, anything short of open hostility may seem like a warm embrace.

—Posted by Mark Dolliver

Published on August 27, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (5)
Filed under Campaign '08, Campbell Mithun, Dolliver, Political ads, Print

Jack Daniel's also feeling the political spirit

I may have been a tad hasty in my earlier post on Captain Morgan's options for a running mate. Perhaps Jack Daniel's would be his best bet, though no candidate with an apostrophe-S on the end of his name has ever been elected to high office in the history of our great nation. Boston agency Arnold, always eager to join a party of any persuasion, has crafted a series of posters that mix the Jack Daniel's brand imagery with Mad Men-era political design. The tagline is, "Socialize liberally. Drink conservatively." One poster reads: "Drinking champagne is a perfectly acceptable way to celebrate being elected president. Of France." (Of course, Sarkozy also got to make love to Carla Bruni, but imagine how much hotter it would've been with some Jack on hand. On second thought, don't.) Another poster proclaims: "Jack supports all parties." Somewhere, JFK has a big smile on his face, and a full glass in each hand. See eight more posters after the jump.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Click to read more ...

Published on August 26, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Alcohol, Arnold, Campaign '08, Gianatasio, Jack Daniel's, Political ads

Ad creatives whip up '08 campaign posters

Adweek asked a bunch of big-name creatives to come up with mock ads for the presidential candidates. Deutsch's take on Obama as chick-magnet party-guy (in the ad above, whipped up before Obama chose Biden instead of Paris) hits close to home for me: It's a vivid reminder of how hip I'll never be. Butler, Shine's McCain poster reads, "God is my running mate," but recent poll numbers don't bear that out. Anomaly plays the age card and takes a poke at "McCain Erickson." Um ... I don't get it. Maybe it's a typo. Waaait. ... No, still don't get it. Check out all the work, and support your favorite in the Adweek comments section (and the election in November).

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on August 25, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under Campaign '08, Gianatasio, Print

Captain Morgan seeking a running matey

So, Barack Obama tapped Joe Biden as his running mate. Good choice. Biden is so articulate, bright and clean. The focus now turns to another White House hopeful with a choice to make. I speak not of John McCain, but of Captain Morgan, whose presidential plank—quite literal in his case, as he is a pirate—mainly consists of "putting the party back in politics" and other pithy ad-speak. Whom should he tap as his first mate? Mr. Peanut? He's dapper and well spoken, but that accent makes me think he was born in a foreign land that doesn't share America's values (e.g., Madison Avenue), and the monocle won't play in Peoria. Joe Camel is in Big Tobacco's pocket. The Aflac duck could ruffle feathers trying to get a bill through Congress and cause a major flap. No, I nominate Toucan Sam, who could sit on the Captain's shoulder and parrot his policies as well as anyone. Or else Hillary Clinton. She could use a drink right about now.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on August 25, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Alcohol, Campaign '08, Captain Morgan, Gianatasio

Harry, Louise still obsessed with healthcare

They're back! Harry and Louise, the not-so-dynamic advertising duo who helped torpedo Hillary Clinton's healthcare reform bid in 1993-94, return in spots set to air during the Democratic and Republican conventions. Their new mission is getting Congress to make healthcare a top priority. Maybe if they'd kept their mouths shut the first time around, we'd have socialized medicine like they do in Canada, where nobody minds waiting 10 months for an appendectomy because of all the mood stabilizers they can get for free. I kid. Canada's great. Anyway, the original Harry and Louise campaign, funded by a group of health-insurance providers, was credited with initiating a boom in public-policy advertising. Today, the landscape's so fragmented and cluttered, they can't possibly have the same impact or appeal. Ask another '90s duo whose recent reunion was ignored en mass: Mulder and Scully. Maybe they were pitching healthcare reform in the recent X-Files movie. No one saw it, so we'll never know for sure.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on August 19, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Campaign '08, Gianatasio, Political ads, TV

In case you haven't had enough of politics

MSN today premieres a 25-episode Web-video comedy series called Republicrats, about a presidential hopeful of no fixed political beliefs (hence the title) who lets the public (via the Web) determine his stance on the issues and even select his running mate. Wags might ask how this differs from actual presidential politics. In our poll-obsessed, image-is-everything society, it probably doesn't. In fact, it's not even as pointed as Stephen Colbert's foray onto the electoral stage, because his "fake" candidacy was for "real." The producers of Republicrats say they have no advertisers yet. If they're willing to inject some mind-bending irony into the process, they should try to get their candidate on the actual ballot and qualify for public matching funds. Then the show could sponsor itself by running real/fake commercials for its real/fake candidate during its own episodes. Now that's satire! And if laws are broken, well, that would just heighten the political "reality."

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on August 19, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Campaign '08, Gianatasio, MSN, Parody, Web video