The dumbing of democracy: Why campaign ads are so lame
I realize this post could be considered extremely "off-topic", but I found it just too good to resist. Besides, I learned of it from Soujourner's weekly SOJOMAIL, "A weekly email-zine of spirituality, politics, and culture", which has been the source of several other articles that I have posted; and it does make mention of Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, one of our more prominent Catholic politicians, one who has NOT incurred the wrath of the bishops, despite his support for "pro-abortion" Senator Arlen Specter, for captial punishment, the Iraq war, and a host of other issues which can hardly be considered "pro-life".
This article appeared in the The Atlantic Monthly's July/August 2004 issue.
This election year, Americans will be educated about candidates more by television ads than any other medium, reports The Atlantic Monthly's Joshua Green. While studies have shown that political ads haven't veered far from formulas developed in the 1950s, the rate at which they are aired has mushroomed since the advent of the medium, suggesting that the ads induce a numbing and less persuasive effect on the public. The low-grade media blitz stands in marked contrast to the sophistication and cleverness of many consumer ads today. Puzzling, considering that a voter's choice of candidate supercedes in urgency, say, the Bud Light versus Miller Lite dilemma.
Republican media consultant John Brabender, who takes a refreshingly creative approach to political ad production, suggests that the "consultant culture" is to blame for the mediocrity. Everyone involved in the campaign, from pollsters to managers to the candidates themselves, want their input in the process. The result is often a confusing, conforming ad, chock-full of way too much information for the average viewer to process.
Read the full article:
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2004/07/green.htm
This article appeared in the The Atlantic Monthly's July/August 2004 issue.
This election year, Americans will be educated about candidates more by television ads than any other medium, reports The Atlantic Monthly's Joshua Green. While studies have shown that political ads haven't veered far from formulas developed in the 1950s, the rate at which they are aired has mushroomed since the advent of the medium, suggesting that the ads induce a numbing and less persuasive effect on the public. The low-grade media blitz stands in marked contrast to the sophistication and cleverness of many consumer ads today. Puzzling, considering that a voter's choice of candidate supercedes in urgency, say, the Bud Light versus Miller Lite dilemma.
Republican media consultant John Brabender, who takes a refreshingly creative approach to political ad production, suggests that the "consultant culture" is to blame for the mediocrity. Everyone involved in the campaign, from pollsters to managers to the candidates themselves, want their input in the process. The result is often a confusing, conforming ad, chock-full of way too much information for the average viewer to process.
Read the full article:
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2004/07/green.htm
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