Last week saw what will hopefully be only a sampling of the extremely odd McCain oeuvre of attack advertising, in which McCain has attempted to smear Obama by talking about how popular he is. This week, Obama is hitting back with a new ad focusing on energy that accuses McCain of being in the pocket of big oil. Now that both sides have thrown their hats into the attack ad ring, let's evaluate the commercials and figure out which candidate knows best how to slime the other:

The images assembled for an attack ad become indelibly linked to the opponent:

Obama ad	McCain ad

The Obama spot: In talking about McCain, the Obama spot flashes an image of high gas prices on the screen.

Message to the voter: The image suggests that John McCain is why gas prices are so high. If it weren't for John McCain, you wouldn't have to carpool to the unemployment office.

The McCain spot: McCain throws the voter a curveball by talking about Obama over an image of Britney Spears. And this isn't bald Britney or VMA's Britney. They didn't even bother to go with the recent pics of Britney at Mel's vacation house where she looks kind of hot but still disappointingly realistic. Instead, they went back to 2005 and dug up a pic of the smoking hot Britney Spears we've all been mourning these past few years. Seeing her again must have brought a tear to more than a few voters' eyes when this spot started running.

Message to the voter: Barack Obama will restore our nation's jailbait popstars to their former pristine and supremely jackable states.

Advantage: Obama. A good attack ad should never establish a connection between your opponent and the Catholic schoolgirl dance number from the "Baby One More Time" video

The text superimposed on an ad is extremely important, since you don't even need the sound to be on for the message to come across. Let's see how the boys did:

Obama ad	McCain ad

The Obama Spot: "$2 million in oil contributions" captioning a dour headshot of John McCain

Message to the voter: John McCain is an unpleasant person who has received $2 million in oil contributions. Since no one likes oil companies, this is a bad thing.

The McCain Spot: "I have become a symbol of America returning to our best traditions" superimposed over an image of clouds parting to reveal a heavenly luminescence.

Message to the voter: This ad would be a home run if it was about McCain. Unfortunately, the ad is about Obama. Therefore, McCain apparently wants the voter to think that Barack Obama has become a symbol of America returning to our best traditions. Additionally, the imagery is apparently intended to associate Obama with the light of God.

Advantage: Obama. Attack ads work much better when they connect the opponent to oil companies or other big business goliaths. It's never a good idea for an attack ad to imply that the opponent is a symbol of America returning to our best traditions. Nor should an attack ad connect the opponent to all the glory of the divine father.

A simple iconic photograph can indicate what effect your opponent will have on the country.

Obama ad	McCain ad

The Obama spot: A traffic jam.

Message to the voter: John McCain is the same as being stuck in traffic, burning through the gas you can't afford because of the high oil prices for which McCain is responsible.

The McCain spot: You can't see Obama in this one, but he is there in the back, blocked by tens of thousands of attendees at one of his appearances.

Message to the voter: Um, we've tried to spin this every which way, honestly. But McCain's message really can't be anything but "When Barack Obama makes an appearance, tens of thousands of people come out to hear him speak." Maybe McCain is trying to attract voters who like their candidates to be more "underground" or "indie." Or it could be just a message about how Obama attracts so many people to his events that there is bound to be a shortage of working toilet facilities.

Advantage: It's a tie, since both spots appear to be campaigning for Obama.

Every attack ad should have one image that packs a "wallop" and keeps everyone talking.

Obama ad	McCain ad

The Obama spot: McCain and Bush side-by-side.

Message to the voter: John McCain and George Bush are a team. Vote for John McCain and you are voting for the least popular president in American history.

The McCain spot: Holy crap. That's Moses!

Message to the voter: He's comparing Barack Obama to Moses! From the Bible! This has to be reverse psychology right? This doesn't even work as sarcasm. That's freaking Moses! Is this supposed to be "so bad it's good," like "Showgirls" or something? Is McCain trying to win the midnight movie, cult classic crowd? Is he camp?

Advantage: McCain. Come on, it's the anti-attack ad! It's a whole new medium. The Campaign to Elect John McCain is avant garde, it's meta, it's a paradigm smasher. Look for his next attack ad, in which McCain admits to having donated $2300 to Barack Obama, because he "just couldn't help himself." Spike Jonze is slated to direct.

Posted by: Bob Powers      I’m a fan of Bob Powers