Swap your PC or your President | Wired News

[BootinUp]

02:00 AM Aug. 20, 2004 PT

Errol Morris, the documentary filmmaker who produced Apple Computer's well-known series of ads about discontented PC users who switched to Macs, had a similar idea on how to reach undecided voters. His new advertising campaign features Republicans who voted for President Bush in 2000 explaining why they now intend to vote for Sen. John Kerry.

Scheduled to run during the Republican National Convention later this month, MoveOn.org's political action committee, MoveOnPAC, will air Morris' aesthetically stark 30-second interviews with ordinary citizens about why they won't vote for Bush again in November.

"There's a principle of advertising that if you want to talk to a certain group, it's best to pick someone from that group," said Morris, whose documentary on former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, The Fog of War, won a 2003 Oscar. "If you want to talk to Republicans on the fence, then it's best to talk to Republicans who are on the fence. These are real people who are expressing themselves in their own words."

Morris' "Real People" ads may rely on traditional Madison Avenue dogma, but they are also a rare example of how the internet can play an integral role in producing a political ad campaign. With a tight schedule and limited funds, Morris said it would have been difficult to locate appropriate voters without MoveOn's extensive e-mail list. (Morris isn't charging MoveOn for his work.)


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[Danger Duck]

1. This will backfire.

Whoever is running the campaign for Kerry should start doing the opposite of whatever their instincts tell them, a la Costanza. Good. More ads showing people who don't like Bush. Yippee. You need to give people a reason to vote for Kerry, because the country will not just vote against Bush. Some people will, but not the majority.

Kerry needs to start telling people why we should vote for him, what he's going to do, and what he personally does not agree with in terms of Bush's policies(Clinton's speech was a masterful example at the convention).

Right now, he plays lame ads showcasing his military record, and at the same time, defends that record. How about forgetting about it altogether? You're getting bogged down in the delta thirty five years later. It's not the sort of issue that is going to win the election. Here's a three point plan for Kerry, and issues, that will speak to the majority of the voters:

1. I'm all about the stem cells. Mad props to the stem cells!
2. The FCC is overbearing and overreaching. The patriot has had a chilling effect, and institutions are beginning to promote self censorship out of fear. I will lay out a clear guiding principal for the FCC, that protects everyone's right to free speech.
3. I will ensure that we have a healthy troop rotation in Iraq, and gradually reduce the amount of troops there, until the region is stable and we can withdraw.

[silverlib]

2. Hopefully, the fence riders

will talk about Kerry and not just about why they aren't voting for Bush. In fact, I can't see how they can keep from talking about the differences in the candidates. Otherwise, they would not have jumped the fence to Kerry's side.

Hopefully, I reiterate. Moveon is a group of really sharp people, including me for one, but actually I'm talking more about the leadership. I haven't seen them goof, yet. Some might mention the Hitler ad submission, but I think they rebutted that quite well.

[BootinUp]

3. I think this ad is

for people who don't pay attention to the campaigns or politics much, and can't make up their mind for themselves. I think it will be an effective ad on the target audience. Although as someone who does get into the details I agree with your points too.