At least he's trying. Spitzer's second ad.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORFZqtGAzTA] Gosh I wish Elliot Spitzer could run ads from now till 2014.

I'm not sure this is a great ad, not even sure I like it, but at least the guy (well probably Jimmy Siegel) is trying.

What I like about this ad is it doesn't hit you over the head with it's message, doesn't feel the need to fill the quiet space nor pump you full of talking points. It keeps you waiting, and doesn't reveal itself till the end and even then, it doesn it with a crinkled newspaper headline. I really appreciate that they trusted their concept.

I'm not sure the music is right, but again, think of how this ad vould have gone: Elliot Spizer has spend a career going after Wall Street... Blah... blah.. blah... Instead of the usual talking points, they engage you with a reveal, and let your imagination fill in the rest (gosh, he has been a thorn in Wall Street's side) to my mind that's worth a 1000 talking points.

Build & Reveal

It's something we don't do very often in political spots. There's a feeling you have to get right to the point, to cram everything in, after all you only have 30 or 60 seconds to make your point.

But I think that's missing the point a surprise, something that breaks our guessing machines, sticks with you, it makes a point better than 30 seconds of fact filled copy ever can.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko2tHPAPr74]

Why does this ad work, well it gets you interested, how do all these random scenes connect, then as they start revealing more information, we're surprised. Those guys aren't sleeping together, they're defusing a bomb!

In the end the message, about a change in perspective aligns with what we know HBO, it reinforces and informs, it's authentic (there's that word again).

It's not about quantity of message, it's about quality.