And we're off

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tZ5Fk4793I&feature=player_embedded] [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGhYVnMqg-A&feature=player_embedded]

That was fast, they probably had these ads ready and waiting. Instead of responding to the Meek attacks with a defense (and really what would the defense be, I didn't make that much money when I ruined the economy), Greene goes on the attack.

While neither ad really grabs me, I think they do enough to muddy the waters.  Meek comes off as a corrupt politician.  Now, I think if Meek's original attack had landed, he wins this round. It's a good lesson, just because you throw a punch doesn't mean you're going to hit someone.   The problem for Meeks is that Greene's checkbook is unlimited, if he goes toe to toe with him, he's going to lose.

The Greene ads are good enough, well produced, but not really standout.

Because this round is a draw, it's really a win for Greene.

More dueling ads in Arkansas

Long delay from blogging, sorry and thanks for sticking around.  Travel and real work keeping me from writing, but it's time to focus now.  Bunch of health care ads coming up trying to frame the post debate debate.  I'll try to look at those tomorrow.  In the meantime, back to Arkansas:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uUaGhgvG1A]

This is a beautiful ad.  I love the shots from the house to the silhouettes, to the details, to the shots of Lincoln in the committee room, really tight work.  The shots are so evocative, but I find them fighting with the script. The script is really a meat and potatoes script about being a committee chairperson and the power that brings to Arkansas.  I've never been sure if that line of reasoning (your incumbent has a lot of power) works.  It probably polls well, but I wonder if it's too rational an argument to make. It almost feels like a bribe to me.  

In any case, while I'm not sure the imagery works with the transactional message, it's a whole lot better than this Harry Reid ad which makes a similar argument to Nevada voters:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aShDYid172c]

Compared to this Reid ad, the Lincoln ad feels like a ball of emotion.  The Reid ad is your standard political "good enough" ad, but it does nothing to connect.  Lincoln at least tries to connect by using the surrogate of the farmer to talk about her power, she tried to make it personal.  If you're going to make an ad along the lines of the powerful incumbent, the Lincoln ad is about as good as you can get.

Two ads from primary challenger Bill Halter:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_budpts3wI4]

I just don't get the coach ad.  It feels hokey and not serious enough to make Halter serious, but not really funny enough to be amusing.  

Dueling ads in Arkansas

First the incumbent: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDopnb1H_Zg&feature=player_embedded]

Then the primary challenger:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMloECSLbTM]

What's interesting about these ads is how close they are in tone.  Both are quirky, off beat ways of giving voters some information about the candidates.  I don't review a lot of cookie cutter ads on this blog, not because there aren't a lot of them to review, but precisely because there are so many of them and frankly they bore me.

These ads don't bore me, but I'm torn about them.  I put off writing about them because I'm not sure exactly how I feel about them.  These ads are not cookie cutter, they are different.  I appreciate that, but I can't help feel that they're lacking something, but I'm not sure what it is....

Maybe it's this: I don't connect with either Bill Halter or Senator Lincoln.  The ads leave me cold. The tone is funny, but I'm not sure if it's appropriate, they dont' feel authentic.  What I mean in this case is neither ad feels true to Halter or Lincoln, somehow I don't get them in the ads.

It's like the candidates are props in their own ads, you could switch the candidates, and the ads would be pretty much the same.  I feel like both ads are out of sync with themselves, discussing serious/tough issues in a light way, they just aren't able to pull it together in the end.

Overall, I don't love either of these ads, though I feel like I should.  I do however appreciate the effort to try and be different because here's the thing, if you take a chance sometimes you're going to miss.  (These ads don't miss that badly, but I think they do miss the mark). That's one primary reason folks don't want to take a chance because people piss all over them if they miss the mark.  It's hard to criticize if you go by the book, if you make a boring ad that looks the same as everything else, but is good enough -- no one is going to attack you for that, even if it isn't effective.

Still, these ads aren't bad, and I think trying for something and failing gets you at least as far as not trying at all.