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New McCain Ad: A Swing and a Miss

Posted by JAZZ SHAW, Assistant Editor in Uncategorized.
Jul 8th, 2008 | Comments

I was just taking a look at the new John McCain campaign ad and a review of it by Ed Morrissey over at Hot Air. The ad is called, simply enough, “Love.” Before I prejudice your opinion, click on the play button below and see what you think.

This ad is drawing a clear contrast between two different types of “love” in the sixties. Ed chooses to describe it as a contrast of “philos vs. eros”. I see the contrast being drawn, but the effect looks rather dubious. Drawing a comparison between the free love generation and the love of country on display in the war footage would doubtless sell well to the greatest generation, but they are regrettably in short supply these days. The “hippies” on display in the spot are, rather, from the following age, the baby boomers. I think the following inadvertently says it all.

McCain’s ad draws battle lines between philos and eros and takes one last shot at a decade that produced the most self-referential and self-absorbed generation of Americans ever seen — the Baby Boomers.

I agree that this is the contrast being shown. My question, though, is in who is supposed to be attracted or offended by this advertisement. If I’m running the McCain campaign, I’m not sure if the first group I would like to offend would be the boomers, who doubtless comprise the largest slice of the voters this season. It’s also worth remembering that there is a very unpopular war going on right now, just as there was during the era portrayed in this ad. Sending a message of, “I was one of the brave ones over there fighting while you stayed here to weave flowers in your hair and have sex in the park” might not be the best tone to set.

It may just be me, but I don’t believe this effort was thought through very clearly.

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Rudi

Those "dirty smelly hippies" are now parents, grandparents and captains of industry or academia. This commercial worked for Nixon in 1968, but is silly today. McCain is dating himself as really old on this one. Did "smelly hippies" create the housing crisis?

pacatrue

Overall, I liked the ad in the sense of it playing on the maverick reputation. It's probably the right way, with McCain's resume, to appeal to people who want "change". On the other hand, yes, I agree that the only people who still hate hippies enough to vote because of it are already going to vote for McCain. I also thought the Obama knocks at the end about hope and flowery words were a cheap shot. I know it's the repeated meme that works, but I still would prefer for McCain to make a case for why his ideas are better than Obama's. Some of them may be.

DLS

It's going to be lost on the even-more-self-absorbed younger crowd.

Whether or not it's exploited by being added to the Big Lie this year that McCain is another Bush (older, out of touch with reality) remains to be seen. (No doubt many who already can be fooled by the Big Lie will believe this only makes the Big Lie more believeable.)

mikkel

I thought it was a good ad actually. It did a great job of playing to their strategy. Now I think that their strategy is fatally flawed because it opens him up to obvious counterattack that will stick (i.e. that since 2000 he has rarely actually acted like a maverick and a lot of his proposals don't make sense) but this is about all they got.

kryon77

Rudi,
It takes character to be a "captain[s] of industry." Not so much to be a captain of academia, the location where many of the Woodstock generation infested when their ponytails began to gray. It's just damn easy, and intellectually lazy, to do the crap that many of them do in
our colleges.

Hippies are old, and they are old at heart, attempting to relive their pathetic youths. Their ideas are old. They spout smug self-regarding slogans. Many people - and many young people - do not like or admire them. So they are a good contrast or foil for McCain.

skippy

hippies are old, and they are old at heart, attempting to relive their pathetic youths. their ideas are old.

so's mccain, and he's the one running for president.

runasim

Since I'm usually out of sync with the 'American public', especially during elecion seasons, I can't judge for others.

Personally, I'm really bored with arguments about hippies, either pro or con.
They were hopelessly unfit for dealing with life realistically, but at the same time, they bravelly put a mirror to America's face and pointed to some unpleasant
reflections therein, like materialism run wild and the lack of social justice.There's a double association there, and I'm comfortable with both being part of their
legacy.

What struck me about the ad was that it relies so heavily on McCain's POW experiences. Didn't he say he doesn't like to talk about It during the flap with Clark.? I can see why he would exploit that part of his past politically, so I guess his talking about it depends on the degree to which he can control the talking.

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