One such application, TimeTube, sorts YouTube videos based on a particular search term and charts them onto a timeline according to viewership. The more times the video has been watched, the larger its thumbnail appears onscreen.
Querying the three presidential candidates reveals that many of the most-watched videos are attack ads and embarrassing clips. For example, a satirical song criticizing John McCain's statements on Iraq and Iran is given prominence on his timeline because of its more than 1.6 million views. (His campaign's most-watched official Web release -- a 16-second clip of Bill Clinton praising McCain -- garnered fewer than a quarter as many hits.)
Searching for other politicians yields similarly negative results. "I'm particularly fond of Eliot Spitzer's TimeTube, which provides a nice contrast between his cheery political ads and the infamous Client Number 9 debacle," Jason Kincaid wrote at TechCrunch. While Kincaid questions the value of indexing videos based on when they were uploaded -- rather than the actual date of the footage -- TimeTube's system has the advantage of showing how old video clips are sometimes resurrected during a campaign, as when CBS excavated footage in response to Hillary Rodham Clinton's inaccurate recollection of a 1996 visit to Bosnia.
]]> Another aggregate tool, Vizband, gives a more impressionistic sense of a candidate's online image by generating a mosaic of video screenshots that come up when the candidate's name is searched. The picture painted of Barack Obama, for example, is a little sunnier than the other candidates, as the collage produced by searching his name includes multiple appearances of the "Yes We Can" video by Black Eyed Peas front man Will.I.Am. This clip, which was viewed more than 17 million times, recently won a Webby.But some question the accuracy of the traffic figures on which these mash-ups are based. A Wired blog recently noted a debate over the number of views an anti-Obama video received at Eyeblast.tv, a conservative group's video-sharing hub. While Eyeblast.tv producer Daniel Glover (formerly of National Journal Group), said it's been viewed over one million times, Tech President's Joshua Levy called the number "highly suspicious."
Despite the debate over metrics, it's clear that the overall viewership of online video is increasing. Online video-watching in March was 64 percent higher than it was last year, according to one research group. Americans watched 11.5 billion online videos that month, some 4.3 billion of which were hosted by YouTube. As the political impact of online video and advertising continues to grow, so too will politicos' need for reliable tools to tell them what's hitting home and what's shaping public perception of candidates on the Web.
]]>Kentucky Rep. Ben Chandler (subscription) and Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo (subscription) star in the new spots, launched Wednesday, portraying Obama as someone Kentucky voters can relate to. "Once you get to know him, he’ll be like family to us," Mongiardo says in his ad. Both men talk about Obama's upbringing -- raised by a single mom, his grandfather who "served in Patton's army," and his grandmother who worked in a bomber factory" during World War II. "They didn't have much money, but they gave Barack a thirst for education, an abiding love for America, and a belief that we all have a stake in each other," Chandler says.
Both men stress the fact that Obama is a "strong Christian" who began his professional life working with churches "helping communities left behind when local plants closed." And they both touch on his economic plan, which calls for ending tax breaks for companies that outsource and providing tax breaks for the middle class.
]]>The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that the Obama camp is also running a TV ad in the state that discusses his religion and his commitment to "something larger than himself," and that the campaign is putting out mailers that show Obama standing on a pulpit in front of a cross with the words "Committed Christian" on the front.
Obama is airing another TV ad in Kentucky that talks about his record on coal and energy issues. Miner Randy Henry narrates much of the ad, saying that while "Washington, D.C., is not listening to us," Obama "has figured it out." An announcer adds that, during his tenure in Illinois and in the Senate, "Obama helped lead the fight for clean coal, to protect our environment and save good-paying American jobs."
A recent poll [PDF] shows Hillary Rodham Clinton with a huge advantage over Obama heading into next Tuesday's primary -- 58 percent to 31 percent. But Obama's ad strategy demonstrates that, unlike in West Virginia, which he all but ceded to Clinton, he intends to fight for votes in the Bluegrass State.
]]>"Pearce voted four times to slash lab funding that would have cost New Mexico thousands of jobs and put America's security at risk," the ad (subscription) warns. "Heather Wilson fought for New Mexico every time." Most of the attacks traded by the two campaigns in their paid media have revolved around their respective voting records in Congress.
The ad is Wilson's second of the race. Like her first, it concludes by labeling her a "common-sense conservative" -- setting her up as a more pragmatic, centrist alternative to Pearce, whose advertising has emphasized his ideological purity, calling him the "one conservative running for Senate."
]]>In Merkley's first TV ad of the month, "Places" (subscription), he highlights his working-class background, claiming that "Gordon Smith and I come from two very different places." An announcer then outlines Merkley's plans to help working-class families who are feeling the pinch from a slow economy.
Merkley was also quick to respond to a negative ad (subscription) released on May 2 by Smith, firing back just two days later with "Kidding" (subscription), which accuses Smith of hypocrisy and of "falsely" attacking Merkley. "Gordon Smith. Who is he kidding?" an announcer asks. Responding to Smith's claim that Merkley violated fundraising rules, the announcer insists that "Merkley enacted the toughest ethics reforms in Oregon's history," whereas it's "Smith who's taken a quarter of a million dollars from Big Oil and voted to give them billions in special tax breaks." Seeking to counter Smith's claim that he is a candidate of change, the ad labels him "just another special-interest senator."
]]> Shifting his attention back to the primary, Merkley targets his Democratic opponent in "Believe " (subscription), which accuses Novick of making insulting comments about fellow Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and Oregon Rep. Darlene Hooley. "Jeff Merkley believes in bringing us together... That's the change Democrats need," an announcer concludes.In a statement, Novick manager Jake Weigler called the ad "a pitiful reflection on how much their campaign is running on empty. No one has even brought up these comments or objected to them except for Jeff Merkley... The one dividing Democrats here is Jeff Merkley."
But rather than retaliate directly over the airwaves, Novick opted to use what the campaign says will be his last paid advertisement (subscription) before the primary to tout his support from former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber (D), who narrates the ad. A clip of Merkley's "Believe" appears on screen, and Kitzhaber asks: "Negative politics as usual? Or something different?" Sticking to Novick's theme of unconventionality, Kitzhaber says: "Steve Novick is not a typical politician, and he's not running a typical campaign." Quotes from newspaper endorsements flash on screen, as Kitzhaber pronounces Novick to be "the cure for politics as usual."
A recent poll (subscription) shows Novick with a slight advantage over Merkley, 29 percent to 23 percent, but that is barely outside of the survey's 5-point margin of error; more than four in 10 Oregon Democratic voters say they are still undecided.
]]>Smith made his TV debut with "Get It" (subscription), a positive ad touting his record in the Senate as an "independent." Seated in a wood-paneled office with soothing music playing in the background, Gordon tries to separate himself from the "partisan fighting, gridlock" of the nation's capital. "That's Washington’s answer to your problems, not mine. I get it," he insists. "No matter who our next president is -- him or her -- I'll find common ground for the change we need." The ad closes with the tagline, "Common ground for the common good."
This tone of niceness didn't last long, however. Just days after "Get It" went on the air, Smith released an ad attacking both Merkley and Novick. "Change? " (subscription) challenges the notion that either Democrat will be a "candidate of change." An announcer accuses Merkley of breaking fundraising rules which he helped set and cites an article from the Oregonian calling Novick the "liberal champion of government spending."
Along with attacking his would-be opponents, Smith also attempts to do something in this ad that it may be difficult to pull off -- usurp the "change" label despite having 12 years of Washington experience. Merkley and Novick represent "more of the same when it's time for a change," the announcer concludes.
]]> In response, Novick manager Jake Weigler said the ad "makes clear that Gordon Smith knows he can't run on his record." Merkley spokesman Matt Canter reacted even more vigorously, accusing Smith of "lying about Jeff Merkley's record out of the box," and adding that Smith was the one "collecting contributions from lobbyists in Washington, D.C. It is the height of hypocrisy from Gordon Smith."Smith has shown no indication of letting up, however. Two more ads released over the last several days are dedicated solely to trashing Merkley -- indicating that Smith may already have some idea who the Democratic nominee will be.
"Banned" (subscription) repeats the claim that Merkley has broken his own fundraising rules. "Rural Timber" (subscription), meanwhile, portrays the "Portland politician" Merkley as being out of touch with rural Oregon voters. "The East Oregonian says Merkley has snubbed the region, and called his statements ignorant and his attitude all too familiar," an announcer states. "When it's time to be united, Merkley keeps us divided," he charges.
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MoveOn put out the call for average citizens to create a 30-second spot about Obama and submit it for a vote by the organization's members, as well as a panel of 24 celebrity judges -- including actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, musician Moby, director Oliver Stone and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. According to the group, there were over 1,100 entries.
MoveOn spokeswoman Ilyse Hogue said that once the organization began to see a groundswell of support for Obama, they decided to give their members a way to participate directly in the campaign. She added, "We believe ads made by real people appeal to voters across the country as much, if not more than, ads made by paid political consultants."
The winning ad features Air Force veteran John Weiler, who says that although he's "been a Republican since before I could actually vote," he's supporting Obama. "We need somebody in the White House that is strong," Weiler says, as patriotic music plays and military medals are shown on screen. "We need somebody that’s going to represent the Left and the Right, the Democrat and the Republican -- everybody."
]]> Weiler told MoveOn that he has grown frustrated with both political parties for failing to get the U.S. out of the war in Iraq and for neglecting the country's veterans. "Obama promises leadership that is responsible about deploying the military and that prioritizes taking care of the men and women fighting on the front lines," he said in a MoveOn press release. In the same statement, MoveOn Executive Director Eli Pariser said "the overwhelming response to 'Obamacan'" should be taken as "a wake-up call about the end of politics-as-usual in America."Attack ads were not eligible, and the rules called for no mention of Obama's Democratic rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton. In addition to the winning ad, four other spots won honors, including the funniest spot and the "people's choice."
MoveOn sponsored a similar "Bush In 30 Seconds" ad contest in 2004, but said that the number of viewers and votes nearly doubled for the Obama competition. In August 2007, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's campaign held a make-your-own ad contest during the primary race, promising to run the winning ad. Controversy ensued, however, when the spot that won the most votes from viewers, a parody from Slate's Bruce Reed, failed to make the list of finalists.
]]>In a new spot (subscription) released Friday in Oregon, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson and his wife, outed CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson, say they support Clinton because she can best end the war in Iraq. "She has been a leader in pushing the administration for a serious exit strategy," Plame says. "She'll get the job done," agrees her husband. Equally positive is a second endorsement spot, which aired in Oregon on Mother's Day, featuring Chelsea Clinton discussing how her mother's values would be an asset to her as the first female president.
Clinton was no less active in West Virginia, where voters head to the polls today, releasing a slightly updated version of a populist economic spot (subscription) that ran previously in Texas. She also put out a last-minute radio ad to counter pundits who have written off the Mountain State as an easy Clinton win. "In Washington, some people say the presidential primary in West Virginia doesn't much matter," an announcer says. "But you know what? Tuesday we can show them." He goes on to remind listeners that "no president has been elected president without winning West Virginia for almost 100 years," and he praises Clinton's economic policies.
]]>John McCain? No, Mike Johanns, former secretary of Agriculture, former Nebraska governor and current candidate for Senate in the state's uncrowded Republican field. Both parties hold their primaries on Tuesday, and Johanns is all but assured of the nomination.
Johanns recently released his first ad of the race, a bio spot replete with images of cowboys and hay-bailing that depicts him as the embodiment of "Nebraska values." In "Proven. Tested. Trusted." (subscription), an announcer claims that Johanns "led us out of a post-9/11 recession" as governor and "changed business as usual at the Department of Agriculture."
Johanns' focus on his experience in President Bush's Cabinet -- as well as his unlikely reference to the Sept. 11 attacks -- suggests that he won't try to distance himself from the past eight years of Republican leadership. Rather, the spot heavily emphasizes experience and nostalgia in an election cycle that Johanns' Democratic opponents are both betting will hinge on change.
]]> One of those opponents, college instructor Scott Kleeb, released a new TV spot this weekend with an eye firmly on the future. In "Time," Kleeb expresses his hope that "Nebraska's best days are still ahead of us," and he proposes to improve health care, invest in renewable energy and deliver tax cuts for working families. Kleeb has struggled to compete with the ad spending of his Democratic opponent, businessman Tony Raimondo, who recently triggered the so-called "millionaire's amendment" after donating nearly half a million dollars to his campaign.Raimondo has used that fundraising edge to his advantage, releasing two new spots in recent weeks. Two weeks ago, he began airing "Experience" (subscription), touting his "real-world" business credentials and firing shots in both directions. "My Republican opponent is a career politician," he says in the ad. "My Democratic opponent is an academic." (Kleeb's spokesman responded by charging the Raimondo campaign with attacking teachers.) And his latest ad (subscription), released last week, trumpets his recent endorsement by the Omaha World-Herald. Both ads end with Raimondo asserting that he has "the kind of experience needed to change Washington."
]]>"A Better Way" (subscription) spotlights McCain's determination to alleviate global warming without expansive government programs. Framing climate change as "a national security issue," McCain urges a third way between those who think "high taxes and crippling regulation is the solution" and another side that "denies the problem even exists." Throughout, the ad features images of rising gas prices and natural disasters to underline the urgency of the issue and our "obligation to future generations to take action and fix it," as McCain says.
The McCain camp has so far made a concerted effort to amplify the message of his issue-oriented campaign tours with ads on health care and the economy. "A Better Way" comes as McCain embarks on a campaign swing intended to promote his commitment to the environment and, in the process, further separate himself from the policies of the Bush administration. The spot is an implicit reaction to ads from Democrats and third-party groups that have tried to chip away at McCain's image and portray him as little better than President Bush on the environment.
McCain's advisers have indicated that they hope to put Oregon into play in the general election. By investing in airtime now, he not only competes with ads currently airing from Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, he also attempts to build post-partisan credibility while explicitly assuaging the concerns of conservatives opposed to the "high taxes and crippling regulation" his ad warns against.
]]>With Republicans facing a dire situation -- a slew of open congressional seats combined with lackluster fundraising for the NRCC -- Freedom's Watch has stepped in to fill a hole, running negative ads against Democratic candidates Don Cazayoux in Louisiana and Travis Childers in Mississippi.
Ads run against Cazayoux in Louisiana's 6th District special election campaign attempted to tie the candidate to Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, and to portray Cazayoux as a tax-and-spend liberal. (Despite these efforts, Cazayoux won the election last week.)
]]> Those spots prompted the DCCC to file two complaints with the Federal Election Commission, accusing Freedom's Watch, which it calls "a shadowy outside group," of coordinating with the NRCC in violation of its status as on outside group, and of directly advocating the defeat of a Democratic candidate. "The facts indicate that Freedom's Watch, Inc. is operating in complete violation of federal campaign finance laws," Executive Director Brian Wolff wrote in a letter to the FEC, calling on the agency to immediately investigate the situation.DCCC complaints led at least one Baton Rouge, La., station to pull the ads off air. A Mississippi ad attacking Childers was also pulled less than a week later, and the DCCC filed a third FEC complaint over the Mississippi spot.
The NRCC flatly rejects the notion that it has been inappropriately coordinating with Freedom's Watch. Press Secretary Ken Spain told the Washington Times: "If Democrats want to waste their time and resources on filing politically motivated complaints, then we hope they continue to do so. Their obsession with this conspiracy theory has gone from being ridiculous to the point of sheer lunacy."
]]>Over an unusually cheery soundtrack for a political advertisement, Roberta trades playful banter with her son and says "he'll make a wonderful president." By spotlighting McCain's 96-year-old mother, the campaign hopes to appeal to female voters, who polls show currently favor Barack Obama, while also reminding viewers concerned about his age that his mother is still sharp as she nears her centennial. The buy will be limited to cable channels that cater primarily to female audiences, such as Lifetime, Oxygen and the Hallmark Channel.
In a larger sense, the ad is of a piece with the campaign's strategy of using earned media to blunt the Democrats' fundraising advantage. Assuming the cutesy spot gets picked up on the Internet and cable news channels, the campaign could greatly amplify the reach of what is really a limited buy on a handful of niche channels.
]]>Fischer's attack ad features actress Dale Carter Cooper making accusations about Lunsford's tenure at a nursing home business, Vencor. "He's the last person in the world I'd want in the Senate," Cooper says of Lunsford, charging that "his business practices are totally unethical." She accuses Lunsford of "evicting elderly people from nursing homes," leaving them "out in the cold" with "no place to go, no person to appeal to." The ad ends with this definitive message appearing on screen: "Say no to Bruce Lunsford."
]]> The spot immediately drew a response from the Lunsford campaign, with spokesman Achim Bergmann telling the Louisville Courier-Journal, "I've been doing political campaigns for 16 years and I've never seen anything like it before." Fischer campaign spokeswoman Kim Geveden defended the ad in a statement, claiming that Lunsford's "business and political history are an issue in this campaign." But other Bluegrass State Democrats would rather see such vitriol aimed at the incumbent, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R). Four prominent local party leaders sent Fischer a letter last week requesting that he pull the ad.Lunsford's camp responded with its own ad, "Truth," a few days after Fischer's ad appeared. Citing an op-ed from the Paducah Sun, an announcer calls Fischer's ad "unfair and inaccurate," and defends Vencor's record, claiming: "When Congress cut Medicare, many health care companies folded. But Lunsford's company survived and today employs over 50,000 people." Lunsford appears on screen at the end, scolding Fischer and appealing to Democrats for unity in the primary: "I approve this message because misleading attacks won't change Washington. Only working together will."
So what prompted Fischer to go negative? According to the Courier-Journal, he has struggled just to gain name recognition among voters, and he trailed Lunsford by 38 points in a recent poll.
Both candidates have also released positive ads within the last week. Lunsford, in "Support," touts his endorsements from various unions and politicians. In "The Truth," Fischer talks about his upbringing and repeats his tagline from previous ads: "I have never been a politician, but I have always been a public servant."
]]>West Virginia is the next to vote, on May 13, and Clinton is considered the favorite. But Obama is focusing on economic issues in hopes of attracting some of the blue-collar voters that make up a huge percentage of the state's electorate. A topic that dominated the debate in Indiana is spilling over into West Virginia -- what to do about gas prices. In "Nothing's Changed," a spot that debuted in Pennsylvania, Obama goes after oil companies for gouging customers at the pump and promises to change the system if elected.
]]> Oregon, set to vote on May 20 along with Kentucky, is thought to be an Obama stronghold. Indicating his intention to try to run up the score in the state, Obama went on air with TV and radio ads there on April 15. One radio ad aimed directly at young people portrays the Illinois senator as the candidate who "gets" what America's youth cares about. "Join" (subscription), which debuted in several Super Tuesday states, features upbeat music and a jubilant message from the candidate. "The world as it is is not the world as it has to be," he proclaims, as "We can change the world" appears on screen. In "Enough " (subscription), Obama promises to reward companies who keep jobs in America rather than shipping them overseas. And "Turn It Off" (subscription), which debuted in North Carolina, touts Obama's plans for education reform, but also encourages adults to be more engaged in their children's lives.Voters in Kentucky, meanwhile, are seeing an ad that previously ran in Pennsylvania: "Toughest," which discusses Obama's record of fighting special interests in Washington.
In South Dakota, Obama is running "Turn It Off" and "Mother" (subscription), an ad that debuted in Iowa last September, which tells the story of his mother's death from cancer in order to convey to voters that he understands the importance of health care reform. In Montana, meanwhile, "Join" is on the air, along with "Carry" (subscription), which touts Obama's efforts at bipartisanship in the Illinois legislature, and "Need" (subscription), in which he criticizes corporate salaries and promises to "return some balance to our tax code."
]]>Artists and writers designing the slick billboards, leaflets and television spots used U.S. advertising yearbooks as source material, the International Herald Tribune reports. The group's brightly colored promotional materials, which are reminiscent of promotions for energy drinks and MP3 players, are just one part of a sophisticated program of public relations and branding that takes its cues from Madison Avenue.
"The dominant style is American," graphic-design professor Zeina Maasri told the Herald Tribune. "It's a kind of communication you can't escape. [Americans] sell politics as a commodity."
In other advertising news:
]]> -- In Oregon, politicians are avoiding the topic of immigration in ads this cycle. (Salem Statesman Journal)-- Mexico's Federal Elections Board fined one of the nation's top broadcasters $500,000 for airing television spots paid for by political parties. (Variety)
-- A British lawmaker is urging a ban of alcohol advertisements at sporting events, arguing that they encourage teenage binge-drinking. (Daily Mirror)
-- An ad for PETA's campaign against the restaurant chain KFC in which Colonel Sanders is splattered with blood is under investigation in the U.K. for possible violations of decency rules. (UTalkMarketing.com, view ad [PDF])
-- European countries are trying to entice Americans to travel across the pond with a new ad campaign. (USA Today)
-- The iconic "I love New York" campaign is being revived and expanded to encourage tourists to visit destinations throughout the state. (New York Times)
-- An avid player of New York's Take Five lottery sued the state's lottery agency Monday, claiming ads grossly exaggerate the odds of winning. (New York Daily News)
-- Pfizer relaunched a branded marketing campaign for an anti-smoking drug after working with the Food and Drug Administration to ensure that new ads include information on the medication's risks. (CNBC's Pharma's Market blog)
-- In Internet advertising, a marketing researcher writes, there exists a "paradoxical relationship between advertising effectiveness and repugnance." (Online Media Daily)
]]>Two weeks ago, Rep. Steve Pearce released a TV ad, "Consistent Conservative," claiming the conservative mantle for himself and implying that his primary opponent, Rep. Heather Wilson, is too liberal for New Mexico. "There's only one: only one conservative in the race for Senate," the ad says, crediting Pearce for being "the only New Mexico congressman to oppose a disastrous government-run socialized-medicine scheme" (a reference to the State Children's Health Insurance program, which Wilson supported).
The attacks became more explicit a week later, when Pearce's campaign released a second ad alleging that Wilson missed important votes in order to film negative campaign commercials. "Wilson missed doing the people's work, because she put her political ambition first," an announcer claims. For good measure, the ad's tagline -- "liberal values, liberal votes" -- adds the charge of liberalism to its accusations of congressional truancy.
]]> But Wilson hadn't waited for this second ad in order to respond. Days after "Consistent Conservative" hit the air, she placed her first paid media of the race, a response ad accusing Pearce of running a negative campaign, and attacking him for voting against an expansion of the Border Patrol and not voting for a troop funding bill. (Pearce didn't vote against it either -- he was absent.)Whichever Republican wins the nomination, the immediate beneficiary of the ad war will likely be Democratic candidate Rep. Tom Udall, a well -funded candidate who faces no opposition -- and no attack ads -- in his party's primary.
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