RK ARCHIVE - Webb Campaign's First Online Ad

the voice seems off (JennyE - 8/22/2006 5:02:24 PM)

doesn't fit the ad at all. Are they doing any focus group testing at all? The commenters above me have the same complaint. Good ad, bad voice. Definitely not TV ad material. For a web ad it's ok, but the quality could have been better.

Oh, can it. (phriendlyjaime - 8/22/2006 5:32:57 PM)

Don't you have a job to apply for?

That's right; the Allen campaign wants to hire conservative bloggers to clean up their future messes. Yeah, right. BC the conservative blogger movement has been soooooooooo successful compared to ther liberal/progressive blogosphere.

The conservative blogosphere (va.walter - 8/22/2006 5:36:57 PM)

went a long way towards winning the Thune-Daschle race in SD. Clearly it isn't as well evolved as the liberal blogosphere but playing a major role in winning the SD race was probably the single biggest political establishment by either side of the blogosphere aisle.

And for anyone who thinks the conservative blogosphere didn't play a major role in winning that race, talk to the Dems on the ground in SD about the 4,000 vote margin.

I'm not saying you are wrong (phriendlyjaime - 8/22/2006 5:38:46 PM)

I am saying good luck having that success in VA. Of course, Allen will hire people out of state, something he likes to trash Webb for doing...

Ooooooooo, I hope some freepers move here for the campaign.

::pukes::

::pukes again::

I agree w/ Pitin (Eric - 8/22/2006 5:15:01 PM)

the cowboy voice didn't really go well with the serious message. I didn't find it as abrasive as other though.

I'm also not sure about the speed of the text flying around the page. Lord knows there's a lot of problems to point out about GeorgeBushAllen - they just seemed to fly by too quick like everything needed to be fit in this one ad. But maybe that's the point - there's so much wrong it can't all fit.

I agree with the above comments about the voice. (va.walter - 8/22/2006 5:15:54 PM)

Also, I wonder if we run the risk of being charged with "going negative" first. The ad is certainly accurate but I can just hear the Allen folks talking about how "positive" their ads have been and how "negative" this one is. Just my 2 cents.

about going negative (Jambon - 8/22/2006 5:29:41 PM)

I agree with you, but since this is a "web ad" only i don't think it's that big of a deal.

But when Jim makes his first big tv buy, i agree with you that it should be positive.

Kilgore made his biggest mistake by going totally negative, without presenting himself in a positive manner first. It was more than just that one Hitler ad that did him in. People only knew about him from his negative political ads. You've got to introduce yourself FIRST, before you totally anhilliate your opponent.

Think of the Bush campaign in 04. He approved the message at the beginning of a positive commercial, and would approve the negative ones at the end. He also had the 527's do alot of the negative attacks, so it wasn't associated with his campaign directly. Brilliant strategy.

I agree to some extent. This is not the ad... (va.walter - 8/22/2006 5:34:41 PM)

that we want to introduce Webb to the masses. Webb is still largely undefined to many voters and this would be a terrible way for him to define himself.

While I agree that it's "just an internet ad," the campaign wouldn't make it if it didn't want people to see it. To say a bad ad is okay because no one will see it misses the point. A bad ad shouldn't be made and, when it is, it should be buried so no one sees it. We've all seen the power of YouTube this week and posting this ad on YouTube is gonna introduce Webb to a lot of people in a less than positive way.

To back up my point... (va.walter - 8/22/2006 5:38:10 PM)

I just saw that the Webb campaign did a press release on this ad and is drawing attention to it. In a relatively slow political season, this ad will get some MSM coverage and I personally can't believe that's what the campaign wants. Good thing Webb's got much smarter minds than mine running the campaign though. I'll defer to their wisdom.

RE: I agree with va.walter (JPTERP - 8/22/2006 7:22:17 PM)

This ad isn't terrible, it isn't great.

In the case of the first TV ad, I would definitely run this by a focus group first.

Also, there are a lot of competing messages--Iraq, gas prices, two George's, etc, etc, etc. The message needs to be much more focused. e.g. George Allen and Iraq. George Allen and big oil. George Allen and the Economy. George Allen as Bush's Rubber Stamp. Honestly though I don't even know if this will be necessary. Simply introduce voters to Jim Webb. Maybe a few weeks from now the Webb campaign re-runs the Allen video.

Attack ads can come later. First things first. Who is Jim Webb?

We'll see how it plays out (Eric - 8/22/2006 9:29:55 PM)

I agree with your main point but given the timing (i.e. it's still August) of the ad, but I'm not sure it'll get much media coverage. They came out with the Allen slur incident because that was something they could sink their teeth into. A mediocre web ad? Doubt there will be any interest.

It should be positive (lwumom - 8/22/2006 9:33:16 PM)

but we must agree that George Allen was the first to go negative in a very big way--against a campaign volunteer. Just because the negativity wasn't in an ad, doesn't mean the Webb campaign wasn't offended. I agree that there definitely should be positive ads introducing Jim Webb to Virginians, but the first shot was fired....not by the Webb team.

AND Jim Webb was "Born Fighting."

agree with most of the other comments (Jambon - 8/22/2006 5:22:50 PM)

not bad for a low budget online ad, but definitely not tv material.

likes: tying Bush to Felix

dislikes: the music and whiney narrator.

I'd be thrilled to see the campaign go to this guy for some tv ads...

http://www.billhills...

New Ad- A for content, F for execution (clarkie - 8/22/2006 5:26:50 PM)

The voice I believe will be regarded as making fun of "country folk". It is just TOO stereotypical...sounds like the old guy on Hee-Haw.
It should be pretty easy to change the voice-over...and I recommend that they do it.

Betting on Webb (loboforestal - 8/22/2006 5:35:06 PM)

tradesports.com shows a huge move to Webb among bettors.

Latest Webb offer (VA.SENATE06.DEM) is at $30, largest offer block is set at $45. Allen bid (VA.SENATE06.GOP) is at firm at $66.

Good content, very bad voice (Silver Fox - 8/22/2006 6:02:15 PM)

Well, I've seen it and heard it. The seeing was good. The voice was a real mistake. A calm authoritative voice doing the voice over would have made this ad a good one, crisp and to the point. Given all that's wrong with our country's current leadership, Gravitas is much more appropriate than Gee-Haw-ness. This is no laughing matter, folks.

RE: OK (JPTERP - 8/22/2006 7:10:33 PM)

I agree with the above comments concerning the voice and the ad overall.

I think a simple, no B.S., "this is who I am this is what I stand for" ad from Webb is the best thing for right now. People are already looking for an Allen antidote--there's a tremendous opening for Webb. I think a direct no frills appeal from Webb could put him over the top. He's got a good voice and good camera presence. This is who I am, this is what I stand for.

The case against Allen has already been made--Allen said it more articulate than any attack ad ever could. There may be a time later in the campaign when people need to be reminded who George Allen is. First things first.

People are definitely open to an alternative (Susan Mariner - 8/22/2006 7:30:43 PM)

From talking to people, I have gathered that many are hungry to know more about Webb so that they can feel comfortable jumping on his bandwagon. Jim's got the history and character to get these folks solidly on board once they get to know him.

Viral Marketing (Greg - 8/22/2006 8:49:49 PM)

I liked it overall, but I'd make the same comment about the voice as the majority here.

The part I really like, though, is the "share" button at the end... The key is getting the couple of thousand core supporters who are fired up to send it to their entire email address lists...

agreed (Arlington Mike - 8/22/2006 9:58:57 PM)

I'd agree.

Webb's message is serious. We are dealing with serious issues here. Iraq. The economy. Our national safety/security.

The twang-y voice is a bit over the top, it's too much for much of Virginia, I don't think residents in Richmond or the Tidewater or even the parts closer to the mountains will recognize it. It comes off as too sarcastic/joking.

I'd much rather see a serious voice, one like Jim's actually, pointing out the serious problems.

Just my take.

Great ad (I.Publius - 8/23/2006 11:04:10 AM)

I especially like how truthful and honest it is... like blaming George Bush for Hurricane Katrina and for gas prices. That was the best part.

And the voice is AWESOME!! This campaign has some great media minds hard at work. Keep it coming!

It's fixable (David Campbell - 8/24/2006 7:06:01 AM)

The ad doesn't work, but it can be easily fixed. The silly animation and cartoonish voice clashes with the gravity of the message. Just use a picture of Bush and Allen together. Use a serious narrator (or, better yet, Webb's voice). The rest of the ad is powerful. The point is to reinforce the growing belief that Bush incompetence has been a total disaster, and that Allen was right there with him all the way. Thatâ€™s not going negative; itâ€™s just telling the truth. We need to shackle Bush to Allen like a ball and chain.

What we need most is a biographical ad to introduce Webb to the public, with pictures of his kin in southwest Virginia, his Vietnam service, maybe a picture of him with Reagan as Navy Secretary, and endorsements by Generals Clark and Zinni. This would be very effective as an inoculation against any swift-boating that Allen may be planning. It would play big in military-oriented Hampton Roads.

I know it is probably too early, but I canâ€™t wait to see some Webb ads on TV. When can we expect to see something?

Webb Campaign's First Online Ad

Comments