Top Gun « Ask Doctor Ads

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 Politico Playbook, when I came across this item: “HIGHWAY TO THE DANGER ZONE — ‘New DeSantis fighter jet ad conjures 1988 Dukakis tank debacle,’ by WaPo’s Gillian Brockell.”

Here’s how the Post piece begins:

Clearly, what Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was going for was a comparison to Tom Cruise.

Hence the “Top Gov” label at the beginning of his latest political ad, which resembles that of Cruise’s “Top Gun” movies, and the slo-mo shots of the Republican governor zipping up a flight suit over an energetic guitar music track. DeSantis “briefs” an out-of-view team — presumably Florida voters — about the “rules of engagement” for “dogfighting” with the “corporate media.” At one point, he sits in the cockpit of what appears to be a fighter jet, flight helmet on, and says, “Alright, ladies and gentlemen.”

Granted, DeSantis was only 10 years old when the Duke-in-a-Tank ad ran, but no one around him could’ve stopped this? What the hell, Doc.

– Helmet Head

Dear Helmet Head,

Exactly how dopey does Ron DeSantis look in his TV spot? Exactly this dopey, courtesy of the Post.

Also instructive is a compare ‘n’ contrast viewing of the two misbegotten ads.

Let’s start with Mike Dukakis’s tanking his 1988 presidential campaign, as he tried to butch up his image on national defense. Here’s the spot that George H.W. Bush ad ran in response. (Politico’s Josh King wrote a great piece on “the inside story of the worst campaign photo op ever.”)