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| Clark
for President
"Patriot"
WMUR-TV Creative Services
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Wesley Clark:
I'm Wes Clark and I'm running for president.
As Americans we know what it takes to be great: leadership, teamwork, spirit, sacrifice, commitment. When you're down, you have to be able to turn things around, and you never give up. Let's face it, you have to be strong on defense; you also need to be strong on offense. And having a heck of a quarterback doesn't hurt either. I'm Wes Clark and I approve this ad because deep down we are all patriots. |
| On the screen: MCU of Clark, wearing a white shirt and what looks like a dark sweater, talking to the camera. ["Let's face it..."] Camera zooms out to show wider view of Clark, revealing the New England Patriots logo on the front of his sweatshirt. ["And having..."] Clark tosses the football a couple of times while continuing to talk. ["I'm Wes Clark..."] Clark gestures towards the camera with the football. Add the disclaimer. |
| Notes and Observations: "Patriot" is nothing major in the overall scheme of the campaign. On one level it's quite effective. The ad has a light tone, it's different from the run of the mill campaign ad, and yet it still conveys the campaign's message. For a very modest expenditure (the ad was to run a couple of times during the game at a cost of perhaps $2,000 per time) the campaign reached the many fans watching the game. Jets fans may not have liked the ad, but they were not watching WMUR. The ad did, as one might expect, get considerable free media, some making fun of the it, and some more critical. James Farrell, writing on NHPR's "Primary Frontline Penpals," stated that ,"...not since the laughable 1992 Bob Kerrey (of Nebraska, not John of Massachusetts) ice-rink ad, has there been such an obvious effort by a presidential candidate to pander to voters with sports metaphors and local iconography." Farrell further stated that he found "this kind of ad demeaning to voters and politics alike." |