Thread: Herman Cain’s interesting ad

Posted at 12:12 PM ET, 10/25/2011

Herman Cain’s interesting ad

By Carter Eskew

Ed and I both woke up this morning thinking about Herman Cain’s new ad. Ed thinks it’s insane; I have a different take.

Yes, the ad, which is probably intended as a way of jump-starting a non-existent organization, features a likely first: a campaign manager operating on no sleep and too many caffeine counter-stimulants endorsing his own candidate. Is campaign manager Mark Block, featured in the ad, someone of significance in conservative circles? Someone who can dog-whistle Republican activists? Maybe Ed knows.

And the smoking is very interesting; it seems perfect for the Cain anti-establishment message. What could be more rebellious than smoking? (Scenes of smoking haven’t been allowed in product ads for years.) And, finally, there is Cain himself at the end, enjoying it all, with a style of grin not fit for description on a family blog. Cain is all about letting his freak flag fly, and this ad waves it high.

Until now, the presidential candidates have used ads more to generate news and money than to persuade, but that’s about to change. Soon it will not be safe to turn on your TV in Iowa and New Hampshire, unless, of course, you are a fan of this form of advertising.

Political ads are unique in marketing because almost every single one of them devalues the category. The reason that you see so few commercial product marketers going negative on the competition isn’t just due to the tougher legal guidelines governing product claims -- remember, the disclaimer in a political exempts the stations from most liability -- but because of category devaluation. For example, Tide decides to trash Cheer; Tide gains a short-term spike in sales; Cheer responds, “so’s your mama,â€

You can scroll down and see the ad here. Can anyone suggest what this ad is all about, other than the most creepy ad you've ever seen?
There has to be some type of hidden agenda with the Cain campaign; other than selling books and using campaign contributions to buy them.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/2 ... 30419.html