Mike Bloomberg Is Hacking Your Attention

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

Interesting op-ed about Bloomberg's ad strategy.

Mike Bloomberg and his presidential campaign respect the fundamental equation governing the modern internet: Shamelessness and conflict equal attention. And attention equals power.

Since declaring his campaign late last fall, the former New York City mayor has used his billions to outspend his competition in an attempt to hack the country’s attention. It seems to be working — this column is yet more proof.

There are his ubiquitous television, YouTube and Facebook ads. There are his tweets, many of which are weird enough to generate the right amount of viral confusion or are pugnacious enough toward Donald Trump to provoke the ire of the presidential Twitter feed. Then there are the influencers. Starting this week the Bloomberg campaign enlisted the help of a number of popular meme-makers to create sponsored Instagram content for the candidate. The rollout was extremely effective, generating substantial praise and disdain. The ratio doesn’t really matter — what matters is that people were talking about Mr. Bloomberg, a candidate who skipped Iowa and New Hampshire and is nonetheless a top-tier contender for the Democratic nomination.

These Extremely Online tactics fit the larger ethos of the Bloomberg campaign, which feels like a control group experiment for a study positing, “What if you ran a presidential campaign so optimized for efficiency and reach that you cut the human element of campaigning altogether?” As my newsroom colleague Matt Flegenheimer wrote in January, Mr. Bloomberg is not really playing chess, “he is more accurately working to bury the board with a gusher of cash so overpowering that everyone forgets how the game was always played in the first place.”

The rest: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/13/opinion/mike-bloomberg-campaign.html?smid=fb-nytopinion&smtyp=cur&fbclid=IwAR17o41pdwitoSDtgQypc0BAN-jtHVPc7xTgA6O2C3Fr8zRV62t1fiTLF-w

[Squinch]

1. Welcome to what is necessary to win elections post Citizens United.

[FarPoint]

6. EXACTLY!

So, we must use the tools available to us....can't bring a paring knife to a gun fight....

[Vivienne235729]

11. +10000 EXACTLY!!

[Fresh_Start]

2. in other words, Mike is doing what the GOP will do for the general

I'm glad mike has enough money to do this

[BusyBeingBest]

3. I wonder if it could work against Donnie Destructo.

Free media coverage of the clown plus Facebook and Cambridge Analytica and all that garbage from 2016. I really hope our nominee has a top-flight media and internet plan this time.

[PatSeg]

4. What bothers me about his advertising

is he has an ad where it appears that Barack Obama is supporting his candidacy. I find it rather deceptive.

[rzemanfl]

5. My wife mentioned the same thing yesterday. n/t

[TheCowsCameHome]

7. Has Barack distanced himself from it?

Not that I'm aware of. Apparently he is comfortable with the ad, or at least the content is accurate.

[PatSeg]

8. I don't think he feels inclined

to comment on the primary candidates. It could be construed as interfering.

[TheCowsCameHome]

9. Otoh, he wouldn't let it slide if it offended him.

The ad looks factual.

[BusyBeingBest]

12. Apparently others use his image in ads as well--

I think it's all implying past association and cooperation, not endorsement of candidacy, which is fair. I'm sure Obama's camp would cry foul privately or publicly, if anyone's ad stepped over the line, and the ad will be pulled if that candidate is smart. Edit to add: If Amy doesn't have an ad with herself standing with Obama or getting praise from him, she's not doing it right, LOL.

[PatSeg]

13. It just feel like Bloomberg's ad in particular

really feels like an implied endorsement. That didn't jump out at me with ads from other candidates.

If I wasn't a political junkie, I'd take that ad as an endorsement.

[BusyBeingBest]

14. I can see that, at casual glance.