Tonight we kick off Episode 14 of the weekly Guest Post series: Medium Cool with BGinCHI.
In case you missed the introduction to the series: Culture as a Hedge Against this Soul-Sucking Political Miasma We’re Living In
You can find the whole series here: Medium Cool with BGinCHI
Tonight’s Topic: You Are… Brad Parscale?
Take it away, BG!
In this week’s Medium Cool, we need you to write a political ad. That’s right, you’re Brad Parscale, but less of a criminal (OK, except for Baud), James Carville, but actually smart & human.
If you could construct an ad for Joe Biden for the 2020 election, what would it be?
Write the dialogue and describe the images. For the latter, we need visual writing, like in a script. No more than 5 narrated lines, no more than 5 images or video clips. You can deviate slightly from this, but it needs to be short (15 seconds, roughly).
If you don’t have a whole ad in mind, but a key image or idea, just offer them. Maybe someone else will pick them up.
***
BG will check in, early and late, but won’t be riding herd the whole time. So no pressure! Just do your best work. :-) You have one week to complete your assignment. (Should you choose to accept it. ~WG
Baud
I was told the ribbing would be harmless. ?
Baud
BTW, I wish this wasn’t one of the rare Sundays when I’m busy. I would love to come up with ads for Joe.
debbie
“Donald Trump is doing to America what he did to his casino. Biden 2020.”
The visual is that side shot of Trump with the humongous wattle.
BGinCHI
I’d be tempted to do an ad called “Infrastructure Week?”
Short clips of Trump talking about “making things” and “infrastructure” juxtaposed with shit falling apart, overwhelmed hospitals, no PPE etc.
End with “Infrastructure WEAK” under this president.
Then show Biden jumping a Camaro over 15 buses.
fin
BGinCHI
@Baud: If you’re gonna bring it in the streets, you got to be strong in the sheets.
OK, that needs work.
Yutsano
I’m at a lunch at my parents house so no real time to be clever. Although I have a couple ideas that I might be able to put together later.
TOP123
I would watch the Camaro bit at least a thousand times
@BGinCHI:
Yutsano
BTW I made the terrible mistake of reading a George Will column about who Biden should pick as the vice president. Suffice it to say his option was…out there. As in nah gunna happen.
Damien
“Donald Trump failed to protect real American workers, and left millions jobless.” – IMAGE: bread lines, homeless, shuttered businesses, and a graph of jobless claims.
”Donald Trump failed to protect frontline healthcare workers, and instead stole the equipment they needed.” – Nurses/doctors in dirty, reused PPE, headlines about the feds seizing medical equipment.
”Donald Trump failed to protect America, failed to lead, failed to even try.” – 100,000 deaths, clip of Donald Trump taking no responsibility, passing the buck, playing golf
”Donald Trump is a failure, and he’s making America fail. We need a president with experience, knowledge, and a track record of success to get us back on track. We need Joe Biden, because America is too great to fail.”
mrmoshpotato
WaterGirl
@Baud: Don’t be sad! My mom always said they wouldn’t tease you if they didn’t like you.
WaterGirl
@Baud: Lucky for you, you have a week to complete your assignment! :-) As many ad ideas as you can come up with.
WaterGirl
@BGinCHI:
I love that!
Uncle Cosmo
I came for the politics, I stayed for the snark – & what did I get?
Repite threads, ecipe exchanges, respite threads, petophilia, garden chats & now a fucking adwriting contest.
Has Life In The Time Of COVID rotted out all yinz’s brains?
OK, you want an idea?
Photo of one of those signs,
Voice over of the 15-20 stupidest things Agolf Twitler ever said, as the sign melts/morphs into
“Paid for by” etc, fade to black.
Brachiator
@Yutsano:
Rhode Island Govenor Gina Raimondo? Don’t know much about her, but don’t know that she would be an unreasonable choice.
However, I tend to discount any suggestion from a pundit who is not a Democrat, even if they don’t like Trump.
WaterGirl
@Uncle Cosmo: Are your first three paragraphs for real cranky, or “just having a little fun” cranky?
J R in WV
I think an ad with just Donald, being Donald. First clip, “this is just the flu, 15 cases, it will be gone in a coupe of weeks!” Followed by the Sunday NY Times, today, with those 1,000 names and tiny obits.
[A shame they couldn’t be bothered to do as good an obit job as they did following the 9-11 disaster Bush bestowed on the nation!!]
Next clip Donald telling us “America, we’re leading the world!” followed by news clips about the USA fatalities dwarfing deaths in the rest of the world.
I know there are many public contributions in Trump’s many speeches from the podium in Covid-19 task force briefings, and running those in close sequence with one another, making it clear that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about at all. Let him contradict himself for the rest of the commercial.
I’ve seen Biden’s latest ad, with ER death intercut with Trump trying to play golf, his only attempt at sport, and it’s great. Contrasting Trump with the real world over and over is the way to go. The Lincoln Project ads are OK too, as long as they keep shooting at Trump, but of course they will be shooting at us as soon as they see Trump’s imminent failure.
Another thing we could do, “Bush Protected us like this:” Shots of the tower debris smoking. “Trump protects us like this:” with a picture of ER havoc and bodies in bags, follow with the NY Times Sunday obit front. End with “Elect Biden, he helped end the last Republican Recession, he can end this Trump Depression”
WaterGirl
Okay, I need to get this first one out, kind of like how you throw away the first pancake.
Woman speaking.
“People are dying. Trump is lying. If you want another 4 years of this, I have just one question for you.”
Any visuals from the past 4 years.
Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago? If you’re not rich, and you actually believe the answer is ‘Yes’, please seek professional help, because you are certifiably crazy.
Brachiator
These and other quotes of Trump and narration of the facts.
Onscreen, a counter showing the number of deaths in the US going from zero to over 100,000
Final graphic. Trump’s failure to prevent unnecessary US deaths from the Corona Virus is unforgivable.
Gvg
I’d like to chip away at the foolish ideasome Trump voter had that he was a successful businessman. Quick hits on his failures then, he acted a part on TV, then what are the results shown.
I would really like to point out that skill and knowledge about how government works is a good thing and people should quit yearning for an outsider who doesn’t know the system to rescue them.
Ruckus
@Uncle Cosmo:
I believe we have a winner.
NoraLenderbee
“Do you really want four more years of this? Biden 2020, for Pete’s sake.”
ema
@WaterGirl:
OT: I’d like to email you something. Cannot find contact info. Please advise, thank you.
trollhattan
@BGinCHI: @TOP123:
+1. Just make it Onion Joe’s TransAm.
I want him speaking directly to federal employees: “Hold on, help is on the way.” Dems need to hammer, hammer, hammer how Trump, Inc. are destroying our government from the inside. Including the “holy” military.
WaterGirl
@ema: you can send email to my nym at balloon-juice.com
If you don’t know what I mean by that, let me know and i’ll send you an email message that you can reply to.
namekarB
“A vote for Joe is a vote to raise the average IQ for both DC and Delaware.”
sdhays
I want an ad which captures how much teevee Donny Dump is watching while the country burns. I’m bad at designing them, but it’s just so galling for that fucker to be so lazy while squatting in such a powerful office.
Ruckus
@Brachiator:
Trump’s failure to even try to prevent unnecessary US deaths from the Corona Virus is unforgivable.
So don’t.
Vote for Biden on November 3rd.
Maybe a bit stronger?
hitchhiker
I’d have some fun with trump’s lazy “in a couple of weeks” / “we’ll see what happens” motif. There could be 50 different 10-second instances of these. The spots could be form a Blooper Reel; each one would feature trump’s voice blathering about what was going to happen in a very short time.
Example: (From the WaPo Jan 15th, 2017)
Woooop!! (Sound of blooper.) Voice: There was never an unveiling because there was never a plan. With trump, “all but finished” means “not started yet.”
Big Text: DOES HE THINK WE’RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION?
We are. Biden 2020.
MattF
“Who is Donald Trump?”
–clips of Trump saying bizarre things about himself—
–clips of Republicans saying he’s a liar, crazy, etc.—
“Who do you believe?”
WaterGirl
WaterGirl
@hitchhiker: how about
HE THINKS WE’RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION.
HE’S WRONG.
HE’S WRONG ABOUT THAT. HE’S WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING.
sdhays
@NoraLenderbee: “Imagine life without constantly being inundated with the latest disgusting and stupid thing Donald Trump said in the last hour. Imagine not having to care what’s going on with that mother ducker ever again. Biden 2020”
zhena gogolia
@Yutsano:
Let me guess — Joni Ernst?
ema
@WaterGirl:
Got it, thank you.
Redshift
It probably doesn’t work for a campaign ad, but I’d like to see side-by-side charts of deaths and unemployment for, say, Germany and the US, to hammer on how Trump’s refusal to allow a competent public health response because he only cared about the economy made both the pandemic and the economy much worse here than in countries with a real government.
zhena gogolia
@Uncle Cosmo:
I like that one.
bluehill
I wouldn’t be surprised if Brad isn’t getting some help from Russian propagandists. Interesting long thread about Russia’s info war on the west.
Anya
@Yutsano: Ugh! I am just tired of never Trumpers pretending their opinion on the Dem choices matter. They should fix their party and leave ours the fuck alone. They’re the reason we ended up with this monster and instead of lecturing us about what we need to do, they should atone for what they’ve done to the country and make sure they clean their house. If they can, then do us a favor and STFU.
West of the Rockies
@Baud:
Maybe we need a BJ quasi-celebrity/commenter roast. You wanna know what we really think of you? ;)
pamelabrown53
@debbie:
Casino Democracy with the pics, Taj Mahal dates and “little guys” who were stiffed and bankrupted. The visuals should be clips from mobster movies if the rights can be secured.
Mallard Filmore
@Damien:
Add some clips of refrigerated morgue trucks to emphasize the hundred thousand deaths.
Add clips of hospital wards in panic mode with gurneys filling the halls.
J R in WV
@pamelabrown53:
I like you idea, and build on it a little bit…
Didn’t the Taj Mahal casino close years ago now?
Wonder what it look like outside with no maintenance for years?
Wonder what it looks like inside after closing from bankruptcy?
Most big buildings closed with no maintenance look like the shitholes that were built on the cheap pretty quickly.
Trump bragging on video “I’m a billionaire”, followed by bankruptcy reports, followed by film of the casino in ruins.
West of the Rockies
Headlines of the deaths, shuttered businesses, soup lines, body bags, etc.
record scratch/freeze frame
Frozen image of Uncle Sam flying ass over tea kettle and being laughed at by world leaders.
Cue voiceover (Morgan Freeman?): “Yep, that’s me… I suppose you’re probably wondering how I got into this mess…”
Cut to an image of Trump’s stupid smirk.
Uncle Sam voiceover continues: “It’s not to late to recover our strength, our dignity, our place as the leader of the free world.”
Biden/Harris 2020.
Brachiator
@WaterGirl:
Thanks. I’m reading and posting from my phone and could not easily find this again.
Jinchi
I think an ad in which Trump is conspicuously absent would be nice.
Imagine a world where you never had to look at his face again.
WaterGirl
@Jinchi: Imagine a world where you never have to care what he says, ever again.
HalfAssedHomesteader
Don’t have an outline but I’d like to see some ads that broaden the focus from Trump to the Republican party and how the ONLY reason Trump remains in power is to enable their smash & grab frenzy for power.
Jinchi
That was literally my dream in October 2016.
trollhattan
@Jinchi:
Trump being Trump, saying Trump things feels cathartic but sways few, if any votes. And might accidentally market Trump more than you’d think (“Hur-hurr, look at him kicking socialist ass!”)
WaterGirl
The United States had long been highly respected in the world.
What about a dignified clip from every president, starting with Jimmy Carter.
Then Trump being Trump.
“One of these things is not like the others.”
“We can’t survive 4 more years with Donald Trump as president.
Vote for honesty, dignity, competence, and a government that works for everyone.
Vote for Joe Biden.
FelonyGovt
I think a video showing Trump saying “I don’t take any responsibility at all” should be the centerpiece. When he said that I immediately thought, “Democratic commercial”.
WaterGirl
@HalfAssedHomesteader: Four years of corruption and incompetence. The Republicans say one thing and do another.
Don’t be the mark.
Vote for someone who believes in government.
Vote Biden.
WaterGirl
@FelonyGovt: Don’t forget to add the “what would you do differently?” question, where he responds with, “Nothing.”
dnfree
@Mallard Filmore: looks like Joe is already on it.
https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-campaign-ad-trump-golf-1506232
Jinchi
Intersperse footage of Biden and Obama. Rebuilding after the economic collapse of the Bush years, Passing health care legislation, capturing bin Laden, marriage equality, Kagan , Sotamayor…
It wasn’t that long ago we had a president we could be proud of.
MobiusKlein
Not sure how relevant it is, but a data point is my 18 yr old daughter, who was a Bernie supporter, was telling us that both candidates were rapists / or other sexual assault. Took offense when we said Biden’s accusers were pretty much discredited.
So don’t underestimate the whispering campaign going on to depress turnout, and otherwise undermine Biden.
WaterGirl
@Jinchi: That’s a good line.
We can have that again. Joe Biden.
HalfAssedHomesteader
@WaterGirl: I’m thinking more along the lines of “As dams crumbled, unemployment lines swelled and deaths mounted the Republicans looked away and pretended everything was fine. Their silence is their consent. To ALL of this madness.”
NotMax
General media tidbits.
1) The trailer gives me some pause that it slants too much in the revisionist direction of Ron Chernow’s tome (he’s an executive producer); note that a three part series on Ulysses Grant begins Monday night on the History Channel.
2) Found on Prime, a not unworthwhile, albeit mercurial, curiosity, Turnover. Observations:
An eccentric brew of comedy and pathos. The secret to the eponymous pastry is flakiness; the film celebrates flakiness as well – caressing the awkward (not always successfully) while avoiding derision.
Several times finds itself on shaky footing, even brushing against the border of caricature, but manages to continue to recover.
Almost bites off more storylines than one movie ought to chew, ending up thematically in a key quite different than it was scored at the start.
Curl up with a favorite beverage and a serving of snackage, kick off your shoes and spend a couple of hours in indie movieland.
3) Is it a good movie? No. Is it a bad movie? No. For whom was it intended? Your guess is as good as mine. A dystopian dance to an idiosyncratic beat.
Whaddaya get if John Carpenter and Ridley Scott collaborated on frappeing Barbara Stanwyck and Sigourney Weaver in a blender, dispensed the concoction into a tumbler and garnished it with a twist of Eve Arden? Hotel Artemis, available on Prime. Consider it a diversion studded with cinematic flailings interspersed with flashes of brilliance.
Lacuna Synecdoche
BGinChi @ Top:
I’ve thought about this a lot. The concept I came up with runs a little longer than 15 seconds, though. Closer to 60 or 90 seconds.
It’s scored with one of those soundtrack pieces all the young fascist and Anonymous youtubers liked to use in the Obama era (back a couple centuries ago). I’m pretty sure it was written by someone from Mission of Burma (maybe Conley or Miller?), or maybe it was from Birdsongs of the Mesozoic. I couldn’t find the speciific piece I’m thinking of, so I’ll substitute BotM’s Ptocatta for the time being.
Anyway. it starts off with 30-60 seconds of the kind of alarmist montage we’ve all seen before – assorted clips of Trump speaking at rallies, news conferences, or international summits, specifically including footage from Trump pushing a country’s leader aside to get a better foreground camera position, and world leaders laughing at Trump; various news disaster clips from the aftermath of the Puerto Rico hurricane and other disasters that occurred on Trump’s watch; news announcements edited into the increasingly dramatic music, “Mike Flynn going on trial,” “Roger Stone arrested,” “Donald Trump impeached,” a running total of deaths from disasters and CoViD-19 punctuating the montage every few seconds marking 1000 dead, 2000 dead … 10, 000 dead, 20,000 dead … 100,000 dead, 200,000 dead …
Hard cut to silence, flickering camera spool av-club projector sound, footage of Ronald Reagan at the 1980 debate, color-graded to look like old 8mm home film, asking “Are you better off now than you were 4 years ago?”
(Quiet, fade to black. Impose Biden 2020 logo.)
trollhattan
Watching Amy Winehouse at Glastonbury in 2007. What a talent, and what a loss.
debbie
@Jinchi:
“Imagine a world where you didn’t have to yell at the television.”
WaterGirl
@HalfAssedHomesteader: That’s good!
trollhattan
@debbie:
:-)
HalfAssedHomesteader
@WaterGirl: …although yours would probably turn out more votes.
Tony Jay
Open on a TV screen. The news is playing. The headline is the number of deaths in the U.S. to Coronavirus thanks to Trump Administration inaction.
Camera backs up. A small-fingered hand hits the remote while another delves into a tub of fried chicken. Chewing noises.
Next channel. Different news, this time it’s about record unemployment and lack of Trump Administration help.
The same hand stabs at the remote again. The other picks up a burger. Grunting noises.
Next channel. Business news. Report on American farmers losing everything because of the Trump Administration’s trade wars.
Angry remote pressing. Every channel hits another snippet of reporting on Trump Administration failure. The burger gets thrown at the screen. Unintelligible cursing as food spits everywhere.
Camera backs up. Leaves the room. The decor is recognizably White House. Two burly guys in suits and ear-pieces stand outside the door as the tirade continues. They exchange a look.
Voiceover – “America deserves better than this. Vote Biden in November to clean up the mess our country is in.”
Run it on Fox News in the DC market. Wait for the explosion.
August West
Kasie Hunt is deeply pissed off tonight.
Miss Bianca
@WaterGirl: Yeah, I like that one. IIRC, Brachiator is an actual pro at this stuff.
J R in WV
@Tony Jay:
You are so good, Tony J… We all think the more Trump in the commercial, the better. Start early in his political career, work your way up to the current death toll, forecast the future.
More than 9-11? yep!
More than Vietnam? yep!
More than WW II? Yep, just wait !!!
trnc
My ad:
“Joe Biden doesn’t have a clue…” (Visual of Joe looking confused).
Fade to clips of DT talking about injecting disinfectant, saying Covid will just go away, and a couple of his bizarre tweets
“… what the hell Donald Trump is talking about.”
More DT inanities.
“In fact, no one does – not even his own staff”
Cut to clips of White House staff trying to explain what DT meant.
“Not even Donald Trump”
Cut to clip where he says he was being sarcastic, etc.
“But Joe Biden knows exactly what he has to do. Joe understood the danger of the pandemic before Donald Trump did. Joe was a leading voice in the executive branch that oversaw 80 straight months of job growth and more than doubling of the stock market. While Trump was bragging about sexual assault, Joe was sponsoring the Violence Against Women Act.”
“Joe Biden is the leader we need today.”
Fade to Biden 2020.
Obviously followed by a video of Joe’s head on Michael Jordan’s body as he does some unbelievable slam dunk while DT sits on the bench crying.
Another Scott
Obviously, I’d never earn a living with such things (not enough kittens or flaming-eyed killer sheep), but it appeals to my ‘left brain’.
Cheers,
Scott.
Miss Bianca
@HalfAssedHomesteader: STOP THE MADNESS!!
Vote Biden 2020
Tony Jay
@J R in WV:
The truth hurts, which is great for our purposes. Everyone needs to have the reality of President TV Tantrum outlined for them. That’s all he does all day anyway, so show it.
And if it drives the Pennsylvania Avenue Squatter out of his tiny mind? Win!
Geminid
@pamelabrown53: “the little guys who got stiffed” would be an effective line of attack, maybe with a narrated intro and the punchline(s) delivered by one or more of the cheated small business people. And I’ve seen testimony by one of the women who as a Miss Teen USA contestant was subjected to Trump’s dressing room visit. That would be effective as well. I still can’t believe these stories weren’t pounded by the Democratic campaign in 2016. I watched TV then, and I saw the clip of Trump mocking the disabled reporter many times. An effective ad- but only if one knew the backstory. The stories of the cheated vendors and voyeurized teenage women would have stood on their own with no explaination.
WaterGirl
How about an ad that totally mocks Trump? Like the “Ted?” guy in the diner mocking Ted Cruz.
randy khan
Let me say I really like the idea of limiting the length of the ad. A lot of the ones that get released solely to the Internet are way . . . . . too . . . . . long.
Also, short ads tend to be more memorable.
WaterGirl
Joe Biden cares about the economy. But not at the expense of human lives.
Joe thinks that if we take care of the people, the economy will follow.
What do you think?
Are YOU expendable? Is your mom expendable? Your kids? Their grandparents?
No one is expendable. We’re all in this together. Right?
Biden for President.
trnc
@Tony Jay: I like it.
zhena gogolia
I don’t know, this one is pretty pithy. I don’t think they need my help.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
What if your mom told you that you were expendable?
Asking for a friend.
zhena gogolia
@Tony Jay:
That’s good.
Baud
@zhena gogolia: Biden’s ads have been pretty good. I got no complaints.
zhena gogolia
@Baud:
The Lincoln Project has also been really good.
Tony Jay
@trnc:
I think I need to swap out the burger for a generic cola, but otherwise it tells a story every voter needs to know.
zhena gogolia
Oh, and look at this one. 30 seconds.
Another Scott
Continuing the theme from above:
Cheers,
Scott.
HRA
We should not bypass his carrying on about opening the churches a few days ago. (show the clip) Then show the clip of him playing golf today at his own place in VA instead of going to church.
WaterGirl
@Baud: You’re back! Can’t wait to see what you come up with.
And I don’t believe for a second that your mom didn’t believe you are a treasure.
Another Scott
@Brachiator:
Yeah.
[Red Sox Manager] The Yankees really should draft … if they want to win this year. [/Red Sox Manager]
(groucho-roll-eyes.gif)
Why should anyone take Will’s comments seriously?
Cheers,
Scott.
Baud
@WaterGirl:
Not feeling especially creative this evening.
NotMax
@WaterGirl
“Let’s bury it!”
// :)
WaterGirl
@HRA:
Donald Trump wants YOU to go to church. Even if it’s not safe. You, not him.
Donald Trump wants YOU to go back to work without being protected. You, not him.
Donald Trump wants YOU to go back to work without being tested. Everyone around HIM gets tested every day.
Donald Trump wants YOU to risk your life for the economy. So HE can be reelected.
I thought the President was supposed to look out for the people. But HE wants you to look out for him.
It’s backwards and upside down. Time to right the ship.
Vote Biden.
WaterGirl
@Baud: Well, there’s always tomorrow.
We’re all counting on you. (cue Airplane scene)
zhena gogolia
@Baud:
I LOVE IT!
HRA
@WaterGirl: You got it! Thanks!
tokyokie
For mine, we need a little input from our pal Amir to get the facts straight. But it is based on something he wrote here a day or two ago:
As we see footage of a run-down neighborhood in Kuala Lumpur, Morgan Freeman or James Earl Jones sonorously intones, “To fight the corona virus pandemic, the Malaysian government provides five masks a week to each of its citizens.”
Cut to footage of overburdened healthcare workers as the narrator continues: “While in the United States, the world’s richest country, doctors and nurses treating Covid-19 patients have to reuse their personal protection equipment — if they have masks at all.”
Cut to workers burying bodies in a trench in New York’s potter’s field: “Donald Trump’s response to the greatest crisis of our time is significantly worse than Malaysia’s. Didn’t he promise to Make America Great Again?”
Fade to Biden 2020 logo.
Mikeindublin
Whatever the add it would have to have O Fortuna playing in the background
HalfAssedHomesteader
Voice of Joe Biden with on-screen text echoing his statements rattling off a litany of utterly boring things to expect during his presidency. A Greek chorus ooo’s and ahh’s chimes along.
“There will be several days when I’m not in the headlines.”
“Most of my cabinet will serve for the entire administration.”
“Vacancies will be filled with the advice and consent of the Senate.”
“The laws of the land will be faithfully executed.”
…
There’s more to America than the President.
Biden 2020
debbie
“He hasn’t made America great. He’s turned America into a third-rate mockery. Biden 2020.”
mvr
@WaterGirl:
Mine in the 90s. I have an old paper I could never get anyone to publish that uses him as an example of a no talent with lots of luck.
J R in WV
@HalfAssedHomesteader:
This is great stuff, but each comment needs added:
– – – – – – – – – “……Unlike Mr Trump’s government!”
mvr
@WaterGirl: I’m not an ad person and totally unsuited to be one, But for this we need to think about what would convince the people who won’t otherwise vote or who are genuinely wavering. And much of the above moves me but only because I think it already.
In this context negativity works if it can make blame stick. There may be more positive stuff that also works. But some totally relevant stuff is tricky, because the tuned in would already be convinced by it.
But then I’m not a pro at this. I just know I’m out of the mainstream and that positivity the move me does not move too many of my fellow citizens.
WaterGirl
@mvr: It is true that the first step in any communication is:
Know your audience!
So I’m nodding. What would convince someone who still believes that Trump is a great businessman, or would be better on the economy. Shaking my head.
mvr
That one seems effective. AT its chosen aim. But can we outlive the consequences?
mrmoshpotato
@Another Scott: Been done.
Are You Better Off?
mvr
@WaterGirl: Yeah, what would? I think probably some really pithy vignette featuring some person he screwed over. But as I said, I’m not an ad person.
I think we need to split audiences. Is the target not voting for Biden because they are generally disillusioned? (Which goes with idealistic to an extreme that can’t be lived up to.) Or do they not hate him enough to vote for Biden? in which case maybe the thing I said above would push some over the edge.
Ben Cisco
I would target his (and his party’s) hypocrisy by comparing accusations against PBO versus VERIFIED actions from his maladministration including:
Palling around with terrorists MBS, Putin, etc. ad nauseam
Narcissism
Fiscal irresponsibility
Lack of support for our military
Lack of intellect
Lack of morality
General cowardice
Corruption
Fin
BGinCHI
Lots of great ideas here.
I’m guessing as we get to the end of the summer, after whatever conventions there are, we’ll get a serious barrage of these ads. Especially if you live in a battleground state.
I predict landslide election.
mrmoshpotato
@BGinCHI:
Don’t get happy. -Bob Cesca
trnc
@Tony Jay: Maybe both. If you can get onions and cheese bits flying off the burger during his fast food orgy, so much the better.
sdhays
@Tony Jay: This is pretty much the ad that I requested @27. Thank you!
WaterGirl
Has Donald Trump been a successful president? Before you answer that question, answer these:
What if you did these things at work?
Make stuff up out of thin air.
Say things that are provably untrue, and keep repeating them.
Deny the reality of what’s right in front of you.
Repeatedly and knowingly break all the rules.
Dare people to do stop you if they can.
How long do you think you’d keep your job if you did that?
Donald Trump’s probationary period is over. It’s time to let him go and hire someone who can do the job.
brantl
Text: Corona Snake Oil:
Picture: A bottle of Hydrochloroquin
Follow up text: Conrona Snake:
Picture of Trump, in his golf outfit, golfiong taken during the Corona Pandemic Shutdown Dated.
Multiple quotes from Trump, intermixed with the issued before-hand refutations from various sources.
2liberal
Sally
So many great ideas here, I hope somebody with influence reads these! My half baked idea comes from a road safety campaign I saw, Toward Zero. Everyone “knows” zero road deaths is a silly idea. So the interviewer asks a guy, “How many deaths is acceptable To you? A thousand?” Well, that’s down from current numbers, so yeah, sure, a thousand seems acceptable. (I’m making details up) so camera pans out to a thousand people walking towards them along a road. Front of the line are his wife and kids. They’re crying, he sinks to his knees. Is a thousand deaths an acceptable number now? This could be done over an over, for pollution, for Covid19, for disaster preparedness, for healthcare, food safety, on and on and on. It’s pretty short and sharp, black and white, engages by asking the viewer a question. And then brings it home. You could add on do you want government that works for your family? Or, do you want, then maybe a shot of Melanie’s I don’t care jacket.Or trump saying he takes no responsibility at all. Or him playing golf. Mix it up in different ads. Ah well, I said half baked, but it’s easily fifteen seconds.
brantl
Have Trump’s quotes about how good the various people he fired and told us what shit they were afterwards how they were completely incompetent. Get the ones where he originally told us what wonderful people they were and how he knew them so well,.
smintheus
A ‘ship of state’ ad. The ship is a pristine antique land yacht in need of nothing more than an inspection sticker. Trump is a blowhard faux mechanic who declares that he’s the only one in town who can fix all the things that supposedly are wrong with it. Instead he immediately makes it inoperable by systematically shredding everything he touches – though he doesn’t do much work from one month to the next. Mostly Trump watches re-runs while his idiot friends and know it all son-in-law dismantle the ‘yacht’ and occasionally try to weld on cheap replacement parts that don’t belong.
An actual mechanic across the street (Biden) tells the long suffering owner that he can fix it but “at this stage it may take a few days”.
Jado
“Republicans Are Traitors”
scene 1 – “In 1934, a consortium of businesses plotted to overthrow the US government of Democratic president Franklin D. Roosevelt. They would install a dictator who would be friendlier to big business. War hero General Smedley Butler found out about it, and exposed the plot so it unraveled before it got any further.”
Scene 2 – “In 1968, Republicans illegally contacted the South Vietnam government, telling them not to attend peace talks until after the Republicans won the 1968 presidential election. Planned peace talks in 1969 never took place. The Vietnam War raged on for 7 more years, with thousands of US military deaths. Republican Richard Nixon won the 1968 presidential election.”
Scene 3 – In 1980, various members of the Republican presidential campaign met with representatives of the Ayatollah Khomeni revolutionary regime from Iran. Allegation state that a bargain was made for the US hostages in Iran by Republicans, to wait for the 1980 election. Hostages were released by Iran 20 minutes after Ronald Reagan finished his inauguration address.”
Scene 4 – In 1986, Republicans circumvented a law passed by Congress to prevent funds being sent to Contra fighters in Nicaragua. They did this by illegally selling arms to Iran, and illegally funneling the proceeds to the Contras. No Republican went to jail, although 11 indicted conspirators were pardoned by Republican President George H.W. Bush.”
Scene 5 – “In March 2015, 47 Republican senators interfered with a US Democratic Presidential Administration negotiation with Iran trying to broker a nuclear arms agreement. In 2016, Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump encouraged Russia to hack the email of his electoral opponent.”
Scene 6 – “Republicans don’t care who dies, who is held captive, or who has to serve overseas in a futile war, as long as they win elections. They will use you, your loved ones, and your neighbors as cannon fodder in their plots, with no second thoughts about honor, duty, or love of country, as long as they win. They will never willingly give you health care, or voting rights, or the right to sue your bosses for exposing you to corona virus. Republicans don’t care who they hurt. Republicans are traitors to America.”
WaterGirl
Or maybe start with this dialogue from a tweet today:
and
Semi-tuff
Montage of news headlines with prominent dates noting the COVID-19 risk. Ominous music. Super: HE WAS WARNED. New montage of headlines regarding CDC, WHO, Fauci, etc. recommending swift action re social distancing testing etc. Super: HE WAS GIVEN AN EXPLANATION. New montage of headlines regarding rising death tolls, case loads, lack of tests and PPE. Super: NEVERTHELESS, HE PERSISTED. New montage of his denials, lies, false predictions “Like a miracle it will disappear” etc finishing on a clip of him golfing at his club.
Super over dark screen, up tempo music: Hold him accountable. Vote Democratic.
mawado
[Putin topless on a white horse]
And, as I watched, there was a white horse. Its rider was holding a bow. He was given a crown, and he went off winning victories, and to win more of them.
[Headline of Trump victory]
And another horse went out, fiery red this time. Its rider was given permission to take peace away from the earth, so that people would kill one another.
[China and United States flags clashing]
I heard something like a voice coming from the midst of the four living creatures. ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius!’
[An image of crops rotting in the fields in 2020
As I looked, there was a pale horse, and its rider’s name was Death. Hades followed along behind him. They were given authority over a quarter of the earth, to kill with the sword, and with famine, and with death
[Cleaver merge of Tump and Satan driving a golf cart and saying]
NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL WINNING!
***
We’ll call this one the The Foursome
Now that’s what I call winning becomes the campaign tagline. Soy bean sales go to zero TWICW. Too weak to walk with other world leaders TWICW
WaterGirl
From Jinchi on 5/31
In response to WaterGirl’s call for Joe Biden ads,
Title Caption: “Which of these look better?”
Left side: Joe Biden standing with anti-violence demonstrators.
Right side: (No Image) just text (“Trump Hid From Protests In Underground Bunker“)
WaterGirl
From Baud on 6/1:
Trump is already a lame duck. Let’s make it official in November.
WaterGirl
If you can even consider voting for this man again, what does that say about you?
e julius drivingstorm
How about a series of video ads that call out any republican politician who pulls something like Tom Cotten did by calling for the 101st airborne division to suppress the so-called “terrorist” (by Trump) Antifa organization. Call him out by his state:
Hey, Arkansas! You’ve been misinformed…
Then straighten viewers out about all the right wing lies they’ve been subjected to.