Tag Archives: The New Republic

Is Presidential TV Ad Spending Really Idiotic, Like Vivek Ramaswamy Says?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and poking around Xitter, when I came across this post on David Axelrod’s feed addressing the latest nonsense from Vivek Ramasmarmy – sorry, Ramaswamy.

Two questions for you, Doc – is presidential TV ad spending more idiotic than Vivek Ramaswamy? Or is it vice versa?

– On the Spot

Dear OtS,

This one looks like a photo finish, yeah?

Let’s start with Vivek Ramaswamy’s X-clusion of TV spots from his primary campaign.

Given that Ramaswamy spent $200,000 on TV ads during the first half of December, as NPR’s Ashley Lopez reported, presumably he’s had some kind of IQ boost in the past few weeks. Regardless, his campaign told NPR it hasn’t entirely stopped spending on ads.

“Our spending levels haven’t changed—we’re just following the data,” said campaign spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. “We are focused on bringing out the voters we’ve identified—best way to reach them is using addressable advertising, mail, text, live calls and doors to communicate with our voters on Vivek’s vision for America, making their plan to caucus and turning them out.”

Yeah – that and going to six Iowa Pizza Ranches in one day might actually get you within 40 points of Donald Trump. Or maybe not, considering that some – like the New Republic’s Jason Linkins – think you might not even make it to caucus night.

As for how idiotic presidential TV ad spending in general might be, it certainly hasn’t paid off for the super PACs that have dropped tens of millions of dollars touting presidential primary hopefuls, as The Bulwark’s Tim Miller has painstakingly documented.

The Super PACs Are Worthless. Donors Should Stop Torching Their Cash.

SUPER PACS FOR SEVERAL GOP CANDIDATES challenging Donald Trump have raised hundreds of millions of dollars to help fund efforts to displace him as the party’s nominee—and they have absolutely nothing to show for it.

No progress. No signs of life. No movement. Nada.

The impotence of the super PAC efforts is an all-the-more-inviting target for ridicule when you consider that this entire strategic approach was discredited in the 2016 and 2020 presidential races. (I can speak from firsthand Jeb! experience about the law of diminishing returns on super PAC dollars.)

Case in point: The pro-DeSantis super PAC Nevar Back Down, whose $25 million worth of ads have gone over like the metric system, rocketing the Florida governor from over 30% in the national polls to 11.7% in ten short months.

So yeah, some presidential ad spending is in fact idiotic. But that doesn’t make Vivek Ramaswamy any smarter.

Are the GOP’s A.I.-Generated Digital Ads More a) Deceptive or b) Dangerous?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and scrolling through Punchbowl News AM (sorry – can only afford the free edition), when I came across this item about the National Republican Congressional Committee plumbing new depths of negative advertising.

The NRCC is launching a digital ad campaign featuring artificial intelligence-created images of national parks “overrun with illegal immigrants.” The GOP messaging takes aim at a number of vulnerable House Democrats who voted against a Republican resolution last week that would bar federal agencies from using funds to house migrants.

The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), would affect the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Forest Service.

So, wait – the national parks are not overrun with illegal immigrants, but the NRCC is showing that they are . . . with doctored video? 

– Doctor, My A.I.s

Dear A-I-I,

Yeah, talk about creating your own reality.

The Punchbowl News piece cites two A.I.-generated ads, one depicting Acadia National Park, represented by Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), the other featuring Glacier Bay National Park, which is in Rep. Mary Peltola’s (D-Alaska) district.

Unfortunately, neither of those links work. But this one for an NRCC video does.

The Doc will let the New Republic’s Tori Otten pick it up from here.

The National Republican Congressional Committee released a wildly xenophobic ad on Monday, depicting several national parks overrun with immigrants.

The ad used artificial intelligence to create images of different national parks in the style of vintage travel posters. The parks, which include the Grand Canyon and the National Mall, are filled with tents that supposedly belong to undocumented immigrants.

“More crime. Less tourism. No beauty,” the ad says. “Democrats’ National Parks.”

Except . . .”not only is the ad deeply xenophobic, it’s also false. A study released in July by a team of economists from Stanford University found that immigration has not caused crime rates to increase in 140 years.”

The TNR piece calls the ad’s fake images “unhinged.”

The Doc calls it business as usual from now on.

Which Consumer Brand Should I Choose For My Next Tattoo?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and reading the skeletal remains of Newsweek when I came across this piece by Tatiania Perry, headlined “Harley-Davidson, Volkswagen Make Top Ten of World’s Most Popular Brand Tattoos.”

Coupon and discount site, DealA looked at more than 50 of the world’s most popular brands to reveal which company inspired the most tattooed fans. The categories for the brands were media, gaming, automotive, food and drink, toys and fashion.

Disney was the leader with 474,458 hashtags. The tattoos for the company have a heavy nostalgia lean because of the franchise’s history. The tattoos under the hashtag ranged from Mickey Mouse to the variety of princesses.

In second place, with significantly less hashtags, was Nintendo at 42,648. The Japanese video game company’s hashtag was filled with “Mario Kart,” “The Legend of Zelda” and “Super Smash Bros.” characters and references.

Arriving in third is Harley-Davidson, which is not surprising given the loyalty of its customers. The motorcycle company’s logo has been plastered on a background of skulls, eagles, flames and flags.

So, Doc – what’s your prescription for my next piece of body art?

– Tattoo Me

Dear Tattoo Me,

For starters, here’s the full top five, via Attractions Magazine.

Obviously, this is a real thing, as you can see all over the Googletron.

Brand-based tattoos can be a goldmine for marketers, according to this post last year on The Cult Branding Company’s website.

There are many psychological reasons customers brand themselves with tattoos of the companies they love. Here are three:

  1. Membership into Social Groups: Brand tattoos help customers bond with others in the same social group who share special interests and common values. Brand tattoos send a message that they belong to a unique, personally meaningful community. You only “get the message” if you’re part of that group.
  2. Finding Meaningful Associations: Brand tattoos remind customers of personal values. The tattoo is a permanent badge with special meaning. It creates a powerful recall cue of the memories, experiences, emotions, and other positive associations they have with the brand. A single image, as represented by the tattoo, can encapsulate a series of complex memories and feelings.
  3. Connecting with Ideals: Brand tattoos are reminders of the customer’s ideal life. The brand becomes associated with specific ideals, as Apple has become inextricably linked to creativity, beauty, and self-expression. Customers see the brand’s mark as a reminder of these ideals, and they draw strength from the image.

Customers instinctively look for meaning; they naturally look for something to rally around; they crave an emotional payout from their interaction with the brands they love.

So, Tattoo Me, there’s the à la carte menu for your next piece of body art. But be careful which brand you rally around for an emotional payout. Abbey White’s piece in The Hollywood Reporter the other day provides a timely cautionary tale.

Inside Disney’s Chaotic “Don’t Say Gay” Bill Response

In the days leading up to CEO Bob Chapek’s apology, Disney’s LGBTQ employees didn’t hold back in their criticism of the company’s public silence on Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill and were already gearing up for an increasingly fraught and “exhausting fight.”

In interviews with The Hollywood Reporter, and in letters to Disney leadership, LGBTQ staffers across the company denounced Chapek’s defense of Disney’s initial decision to not release a public statement regarding the passage of HB 1557/SB 1834.

“All corporations are involved in things like this,” Molly Ostertag, a Disney TV Animation writer who worked on its groundbreaking animated series The Owl House, told The Hollywood Reporter prior to Chapek’s apology Friday. “I think people are responding to the hypocrisy of Disney. They’re established as being a place safe for children, inspiring for children and accepting of children. This goes against all of that.”

The Doc’s diagnosis: Mickey and Minnie might be cute, but in the end they’re cismice.

Forewarned is forearmed.

Why Is a U.S. Senate Candidate Firing a Gun at 3 Democratic Politicians in His Ad?

by doctorads

Well the Doc opened up the old mailbag today and here’s what poured out.

Dear Dr. Ads,

There I was, minding my own business and scrolling through my Twitter feed when I came across this.

 

 

The Daily Wire piece by Ashe Schow starts out this way.

Jim Lamon, a Republican candidate in Arizona running for the U.S. Senate, released a controversial new ad this week that will run during the Super Bowl on Sunday.

In the ad, which takes place in an Old West-style town, an old man yells “It’s the D.C. Gang!” as three figures – two men and one woman – walk up the main street.

The figures are then introduced as “Old Joe” (Joe Biden), “Shifty Kelly” (Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona), and “Crazy Face Pelosi” (House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California). A man wearing chaps and a leather vest with a Sheriff’s star on it approaches the gang, introduced as Jim Lamon.

Eventually . . . “[Lamon] fires three shots, taking out just the weapons of each of the politicians and sending them running away. No one was even fake physically hurt during the ad, but Democrats and others may find it in poor taste for Lamon to take a shot at Kelly, husband of former Rep. Gabby Giffords, who was famously shot by a mentally ill man in 2011 during a campaign stop.”

What the hell is up with that, Doc?

– Lamonting It All

Dear Lamonting,

Videos of Arizona Republicans visiting violence on Democratic politicians seem to be all the rage in the Grand Canyon State these days.

First there was Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar (R-Even His Family Hates Him) retweeting a video of him beheading Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes.(D-What the Hell Is Wrong With You?).

Now comes Jim Lamon’s TV spot, which is slated to run in the Tuscon market during tonight’s Super Bowl broadcast.

 

 

A piece by Jack Dutton in Newsweek (which has become a steaming cauldron of crackpot conservative clickbait, as Alex Shephard has detailed in The New Republic) notes that Lamon is no stranger to controversy.

It is not the first time a Lamon ad that stoked outrage. In January, he released a commercial that used the phrase “Let’s go Brandon, which is a euphemism for “F*** Joe Biden.”

Yahoo refused to run the ad, saying it would only allow it if the phrase was omitted.

Lamon hit back, accusing Big Tech of stepping in “to help their liberal buddies who can’t win elections fairly.”

Clearly Lamon is a shoot first, answer questions later kind of guy. Typical Senate material in today’s GOP, no?