Five Reasons Why the Obama Infomercial was Worth the Cost
Let's be honest: the Obama infomercial was about comforting white Americans -- especially middle and working class white Americans. That said, it was arguably necessary and -- for what it was -- very effective.
Although only time will tell, it appears that the Obama infomercial accomplished exactly what it needed to do: soothing skittish white undecided voters without alienating current supporters.
1. With a set evocative of the Oval Office, Obama's presence in the piece served as a preview to what it would look like if he were to be elected as President. By providing a chance for the still uneasy undecideds to envision this future, it will likely work to move some of those voters out of their reluctance. Despite the McCain campaign's increasingly strident assertions to the contrary, Obama gave every appearance of being more than "ready" to step into the role of a world leader.
2. By showing numerous photos of Obama interacting with white working class Americans of different ages (in addition to black and Latino Americans), the infomercial leveraged the power of visual imagery to contextualize Obama as "one of us" within the minds of those voters. This is a welcome and much-needed change from advertisements by the campaign that have, up until now, sometimes focused too much on words alone to convey their messages. In addition, the narratives within the piece evoked emotional response and connection -- again, very welcome and somewhat different than the frequently more conceptual and cognitive appeal of previous Obama campaign advertising.
3. For those who resonate to the cognitive, the infomercial also clearly presented (again) specifics of Obama's plans to address the most pressing issues on the minds of many voters. If you believe their words, undecided voters tend to respond well to specifics and to talk about "needing more information" when asked about why they continue to be undecided.
4. If, however, you do not believe the words of the undecided voters tell the whole story, the piece was still effective. By any objective measure, Obama came across as reasonable, knowledgeable and -- most importantly for the sake of television -- likeable. As anyone who is familiar with media knows, that is the primary goal of any television appearance. People seldom remember more than one point someone makes (if they even recall one) when they appear on television, but they are strongly affected by how the person comes across.
5. Within the biographical parts of the piece, Obama's life story was reiterated as epitomizing the American dream. Certainly it can be said that it would take someone very determined to continue to characterize Obama as a "terrorist" within their own minds after watching the infomercial -- and those people would never vote for him anyway. Additionally, when Obama talked about his mother's death and about his own lack of perfection -- saying even "I will not be a perfect president" -- his humanity came through powerfully.
The Obama infomercial was a risk -- but the piece will likely go down in history as yet another way that the Obama campaign has forever changed the face of political campaigning through its creative use of media.
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If Hilary was running she would have to work harder, go bigger...
same as Obama...they are not average white guys....
that is why they need the extra 30 minutes sales job.....
I think another reason Hillary or Obama would need "the extra 30 minute sales job" (good description) is that the corporate powers-that-be in the media are Republicans. I am so glad Obama opted out of public financing because with the mainstream media in the hands of only five corporate conglomerates, there was no way the playing field would have been leveled otherwise. Just this weekend MSNBC ran what seemed to be all McCain-Palin all the time and a Palin rally was being televised when I turned the TV off just a few moments ago.
For all the cries about the "liberal media", nothing could be farther from the truth and if to get quality coverage, Obama has to pay for it with an infomercial, so be it.
DO NOT WIMP OUT NOW! WE ARE COUNTING ON EACH OTHER!
Lines are long .......... take a COOLER full of snacks and drinks!
YOU CAN THEN SIT ON THE COOLER WHILE IN LINE!
HAVE A PARTY!
CELEBRATE YOUR VOTE >>>>>>>>>>>>> BUT VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!
THREE DAYS TO GO AND STILL NO MEDICAL RECORDS FROM PALIN www.palindeception.com
"Dr. Baldwin-Johnson is a central figure in this entire story, yet has been almost completely silent and out of the public eye." Is she afraid that she may lose her license if the story turns out to be true??? YOU BETCHA she is, and she should be!!!!
Is Dr Baldwin-Johnson related to Levi .... Bristol's Baby Daddy?? Wasilla is a small town! Are they circling the wagons???
LOOKS LIKE IGNORING THIS ISSUE HAS WORKED !!!! THE MEDIA HAS NOT PRESSED HER ON OUR BEHALF AND NOW SHE IS GETTING AWAY WITH IT >>> ANOTHER BUSH/CHENEY TACTIC
IGNORE THE PEOPLE AND THEY GIVE UP!!!!
For a well-written and factual BLOG on why this is important .. take a few minutes to read THIS ... then write to all the NEWS agencies and DEMAND that they NOT LET PALIN GET AWAY with this!!
ONCE AGAIN: THE REPUBLICANS ARE MAKING FOOLS OF ALL OF US!!!!!!!!
This blogger makes sense! http://www.palindeception.com/ take a few minutes to read this
Surely the MEDIA have reporters who could have checked this out???
"By showing numerous photos of Obama interacting with white working class Americans of different ages (in addition to black and Latino Americans)"....why couldn't you just say he was interacting with PEOPLE...or VOTERS....or AMERICANS? Jeez.
Then..."The Obama infomercial was a risk"....how was discussing the issues and saying what he would do to move the nation forward, a 'risk'?
Please read the last one first... not experienced at posting a saga. LOL
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Let us all rise in our awareness and consciousness in this: we do not have to manifest all of the doom and gloom which is being thrust upon us by rote. We do not have to fulfill any kind of prophesy of end times, either. Imagine for a minute that all of the out-of-present-time predictions we are thrashed with constantly are a complete and utter fabrication with the sole intent of robbing us of our Will. Then, imagine World Peace... and you will see that it is totally doable. There is no lack of anything anywhere. Everything we require is right here.
Thank you!
I hate to be a buzz kill here, as this article does seem to hit a few points, but saying it was about "comforting white Americans" is somewhat racist and limiting. Maybe we were watching a different informecial. I saw people of all walks of life, all. I saw people of many races and income brackets. I include the endorcements. Those are people, too. I know... even though some are politicians. I was moved the most by Bill Richardson's comments as they came straight from the heart.
The most remarkable quality of this infomercial is the aftertaste it left. I felt totally relaxed after watching it, and so did everyone I spoke to later. This is not deep analysis, but when I asked "How did you feel?" I heard words like: peaceful, calm, happy, INSPIRED (this came up a lot), calm, uplifted. You get the drift. I am going out on a limb here, but I suspect that this response is due to the absence of negative references throughout the infomercial. I want to point out that stating the truth of someone's current challenges in life, e.g. it is difficult for them to pay bills, is different than the negativity we have all been treated to in the campaigns. (continued)
so B.O.s koolaid worked, did it? At least on all you democrats that had to watch his propaganda. He still hasn't outlined what government programs he will veto (which doesn't mean that they will be disbanded or not funded anyway).
Well we could ask for another 30 minutes at least just for you sjohnnie on that.. how much do you need dude???? How much?????? Obviously you have other reasons for not voting for Obama... so go back and vote against yourself yet again and oh ya.. tell me what kinds of details does your candidate tell anyone... the most I have heard him say.. oh ya I can fix that.. ya.. oh brother... just keep drinking guy... i know it must be stronger than koolaid.
I hope you guys have a good backup plan if Obama is not elected. It's a hard fall froom the top of the world to the pit of dispair. Even dedicated Mac voters know that he could lose, so if he does, it will be a disappointment. Obama's loss will probably raise the intake lines at the psych hospitals to unprecedented levels. Good luck.
A backup plan is only needed if there is no confidence in the main plan. Plan A is sound.....no backup needed.
OBAMA/BIDEN '08
There is a back up plan... its called McCain/Palin. The last 8 years have been so great for you , cant wait to have more of the same. Lose the labels and start using your brain or did hate and insecurity destroy any remaining brain activity. Remember ...we get the government we deserve..........so you keep yours... My family and most of America deserve so much better than these recycled incompenents.
Watched it for the second time... Very touching...
First politician ever came across as a REAL person like us.
Vote!
We need this tall, dark, extremely bright young man to bring us all out of our mires that has taken ahold of us in the last 30 years. He is a new energy.
As a non American but an avid follower of American and world politics, I thought that the decision to air a 30 minutes infommercial is a big mistake. I know a thing or two about TV campaigns. I helped in creating a few (though not in the U.S). I thought that "steeling" 30 minutes of precious "enterteinment" time from the average American, will only alienate Obama and backfire. How wrong was I?
After about 5 minutes, watching the spot on HuffPost, I've realized that this is a completely different ballgame. I stopped the viewing and downloaded the whole piece for a comfortable TV viewing later on with my wife. I was not disappointed. This guy knows his game. He is already looks and sounds presidential. He's people managed to bland every positive, important and influential ingredient into a comforting, yet highly motivating film. Obama is obviously highly intelligent and he demonstrate an ability to adapt very quickly to any given situation. This is the kind of a leader that the U.S needs. This is the kind of leader that the world needs.
looking and sounding presidential doesn't make you presidential. Are all you people on the weed? Peace, love, happiness. What crap! Get back to reality.
sjohnnie5 bitter guy,
Why are you harrassing us on here? Hard to believe you not only support a loser but you act like one too..
to sjohnnie5:
Your comment has nothing to do with my analysis. I mentioned the extraordinary capability of Obama to learn quickly and adapt on the fly. This quality is apparent in the TV spot and this is one of the reasons it was so effective.
I would like to add that attacking me personally doesn't really demonstrate your superior intelligence.
As I mentioned, I'm not American and through out my life I faced many times some kind of war or terror attacks. I served 5 years in the army and believe me when I tell you that I know a thing or two about war and peace. Don't dismiss me that easily.
Agreed. I think that it was a brilliant move in a brilliantly run campaign.
The cost? Well, considering that I paid for it (along with millions of other voters), I feel it was well worth it. It wasn't paid for by Glaxo Smith Kline or Merck or Exxon ... it was paid for by Americans - who want their country back.
As a 47 year old woman voter I got just what I needed for this presentation. Comfort, reasurance,
confermation that he is the real deal.
Never before have I felt so conected to a candidate.
I am lifted with hope and pride that will spill over into my life, community, relationsips, and the way I see the world.
I feel at peace with him and in good hands.
I never thought that was even possible, considering the past 8 years and the hell hole we have been thrown into.
The future looks bright. Pull out your shades folks.
That's great, now go call all your friends to make sure that they've voted for him as well. This is not over by a long shot people. It's not over til all the votes are counted.
I remember working in a store getting free medical benefits that paid 100% or close to 100% of my expenses. I was very young and my salary was small but having these benefits was still a huge relief. I can imagine how it must have been for the older workers, The difference between the wealthy and the middle class has gotten so great with the changes in the tax structure as well as hugely inflated salaries at the upper end. In the 1970's CEO salaries where 28 x's about as high as workers and now I heard the estimate as being 370x's as high. "Joe the Plumber" you need to face reality.
About the Bush mandates...........there is something in the law that stops mandates from ougoing presidents to be revoked easily. First they have to berevoked within 30 days, and if Bush does them early enough a new president would not be in office in time to stop them. They can be change but ithe process involves investigations iand data collection nto why it should be changed: things like air quality postings for a period of time. What idiot would mess with the environment is already messsed up. Bush must be related to "global warming is not man-made Palin".
Obama has a smart team and if they can prevent this they will. If not "you betcha" he will put the investigations into place.
HEY REPUBLICANS! YOUR PERFORMANCE IS UNSATISFACTORY. YOU'RE FIRED!!!!
why sure. If they don't steal it.
Of course they have to steal it ... this is their last chance to do so.
If the Repubs lose this one then the first priority We the People must correct is the questionable method of using "machines" to choose our leaders and laws. The Supreme Court should never be given the oppurtunity to do this again.
We must demand the usage of the "Canadian Method" of voting:
If you can read and draw an "X" next to your choice - you can vote.
Canada uses this method and gets ALL their votes tallied in one single evening with 100% accuracy. (Guaranteed - 100% ACCURACY)
“Power always thinks ... that it is doing God's service when it is violating all his laws.” - John Adams
Barack Obama is the best individual to enter politics since JFK. He has moved America like no one before him and made all of us believe we can get through anything together. He is a true motivator.
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