Maybe it's me

A friend sent me this one, with the note, "Best political ad of the year..." [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUKHWnpsOL8]

Watching a video like this, I got to wonder is it just me, maybe I'm lacking creativity and vision.  But I just don't get it.

On one hand, wow, they really went for it.  You got to appreciate the fact they aren't going with vanilla. They sure went through what seems like a lot of effort -- complete with dressing their candidate up like young Terri Garr. There's of art direction going on to parody a 35 year old movie. And, while I've talked about other ads/videos not trusting their concept, these guys trust theirs all the way.

The section with the violin, to quote Boris, "Guys, this is movie." That part works, it drives home the message (though it ends with "Ahmadinejad, he's my boyfriend," and while that's accurate to the parody, seems way over the top here).

Still, at the end of the day, this video feels like a mess to me.  Another film school quote, "If you notice the boom mic in the shot, then the scene isn't working." Well, I noticed the shoddy camera work.  The choice of "Young Frankenstein" is odd, and even odder is dressing your candidate up like a gothic heroine, but alright.  In the end, there's 10 seconds of good material, but the rest leaves me searching for the meaning. What's the deal with Frankenstein and Iran?  I'm not sure what the metaphor is supposed to be? What is Harman creating?

At the end of the day, this seems like an elaborate gimmick. In other words, it a concept driving message, not a message driving a concept.  It may get Mattie Fein attention, but I wonder what that attention is, will people see the production values and see her as serious?  Will the attacks stick?

I admire their gusto and style, but question their judgement.  Maybe it's just me though.