☆ A tale of two ads
We asked our resident marketing expert (Philip Davenport works for an ad agency in Brooklyn) to take a look at two ads from the California governor's race: Matt Mahan's and Tom Steyer's. We asked Philip to keep the politics out of it, and just view the ads as he would if he were a client giving feedback to the agency. Philip is not a CA voter and assures us he wouldn't vote for either candidate. An Opportunity Now exclusive.
Let's say the quiet part right up front: ads are not authentic. They're almost always at least one degree removed from the company or politician they are purportedly about, as they're created by agencies that try to establish ideas, feelings, and positions in viewers' minds about their clients.
But that said, ads, especially political ads, can be instructive tools for figuring out how the client wants to be perceived (accurately or not) and the vibes or personality traits with which they want to be associated.
In the CA governor's race, two recent ads, one by Matt Mahan, and one by Tom Steyer, provide a great example of this phenomenom. The ads I'm reviewing in this post are "All the Good" by Team Mahan and an affordability ad by Team Steyer.
What's the feeling these ads are trying to create?
Mahan is trying to inspire. He's using a lot of typical creative techniques that are meant to pull on heartstrings. There's a slow piano/woodwinds score that slowly builds to a type of crescendo. Lots of artfully-shot, fashion-inspired headshots of single Californians that look suspiciously like an old Benetton ad. And a deep-voiced Mahan narrating serious-sounding phrases about "all the good we can do" (well, Democrats, anyways), promises made, reaching potential, etc.
Steyer comes out like a fighter. In this combative, high-energy ad, the billionaire narrates a punchy attack on California's lack of affordability. Energetic voice-over combines with quick-cut editing and anthemic rock music to pitch Steyer as the courageous disruptor. The ad uses lots of stock footage--it's not as high quality production as Mahan's ad--that's lined up with Steyer's narration.
What are they trying to communicate?
Mahan wants to associate his campaign with people's aspirations for California--and how he's a fixer. There's a hint of nostalgia running through the ad--old photos of Matt's family in his Watsonville youth, a call to "get California back to being California" (MCGA?). He suggests, rather boldly to this viewer, that "I am solving" California's problems in San Jose. Then he lists a series of claims about his achievements in SJ (decreasing homeless, safest big city, lots of new homes). These claims rush by and I get the sense that none of them would stand up to any serious critical scrutiny.
Steyer wants to be the brave leader who is no-nonsense, tells it as it is. He even says "bullshit" at one moment in the ad. He uses his billionaire business success to prove his accountability bona fides. Like Mahan, he glides over his history of policy successes (he says, without any proof, that he's taken on Big Oil, Big Tobacco, Big Corps). Steyer is sitting on a stool outside an open garage. He wants to be an everyman--or at least aligned with everyman, fired by righteous rage.
What are they opposing?
Mahan takes a broad swipe at "Sacramento" saying "all it does is spend money." But he doesn't give any examples, leaving his charge strangely toothless, especially coming from a candidate that supports the CA High Speed Rail boondoggle.
Steyer goes after the same target: Sacramento. His take is that Capitol politicians are wimps, they are afraid to change the failed system that has made CA so unaffordable. Steyer's pugnacious approach contrasts with what he sees as feckless pols: "Bring it on," he concludes, while of course not identifying any particular policies he rejects.
What's the unique selling proposition:
Mahan's ad is about Mahan the person. It starts off by Matt intoning, over an odd shot of a bed of flowers, "Why do I want to be governor?" This ad aims to introduce Matt to people who aren't familiar with his time in San Jose, and presents him as an idealistic uniter that can fix things.
Steyer is the crusading billionaire. He says he's got the business background to get things done and can't be bought or sold. His independence, combined with his pugnacity, is his main differentiator.
Overall grade:
Mahan: Matt's ad wants to be serious, but the voice-over has a low-energy, slow-tempo quality to it that undercuts its inspirational goal. The visuals, while arty, sometimes bonk against the voice-over (showing two Harvard Univ grads when talking about families not getting "above water"), and it also labors to try to cram too many messages into its one-minute run-time. Team Mahan gets a nod for trying for a big Obama-like inspirational home run, but to me, creatively, they only get to first base. B-.
Steyer: This ad knows what it wants to do. It is simple, consistent, all the creative elements work together to deliver a message and vibe that is less ambitious than Mahan's, but clearer and obvious. It's not clever, it won't win any awards, it's not arty, but it delivers its message of combative rejection of the status quo in an entertaining, easy-to-understand manner. A-.
Watch the Mahan ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2plt17K5vcw
Watch the Steyer ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcYwest_DpY
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