Power of the personal

Two ads, well an ad and a video, that I thought were interesting though neither feels fully expressed somehow http://youtu.be/upbjHwo0ncg

This intro ad from Hector Balderas is pretty nice. I thought the first half was better than the second. The line "He understands the power of education in a way most senators never will" is particularly powerful. I kinda wanted the spot to end there. After that it turns to issues and policy and the spot loses me.

Also I would have liked a simple presentation of his village at the open, the execution isn't quite right, though the copy is good.

http://youtu.be/U7T5psHRFB0

I loved the copy of this ad. So powerful. The shots are awesome, and the sound effects are really well done (the child laughing at the beginning, you almost miss it, but it totally makes that opening sequence). And that beginning sequence, the personal connection, the connection to his values, his principles are what really makes this video work. Funny thing, about 50 seconds in, the video lost me. After his father, it seemed to get I don't know political. Watching it the first time, I was totally engrossed, then I remember looking up because I was bored.

That's the thing about both these videos. Once they turn from personal to political, from values to issues, they lost my attention, I want to stay connected, but they've stopped resonating, and I've started thinking (or worse, not paying attention).

One of my partners always says, voters don't care about issues per se, they care about values. To the extent that these videos show the values of the candidates they have power, once they veer into issue territory, they become "political."