The Command Post
2004 US Presidential Election
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October 21, 2004
| Kerry Campaign Invents New Media Trick

And a clever and cheap trick too, which will save them money. From the Washington Post :

John F. Kerry’s strategists pride themselves on the sheer speed of their advertising effort as they churn out one response after another to President Bush’s attack spots.

Now it turns out that some of the Kerry commercials are being written, edited, produced and put on satellites for the purpose of generating news articles. They have not actually aired on any network or local station — except in reports about the Democrat’s campaign.

Since Sept. 1, the Kerry camp has released and publicized more than half a dozen commercials, on subjects ranging from taxes to health care to the war in Iraq, without buying time for them, either nationally or in battleground states. Others have run in only one or two markets after being unveiled with considerable fanfare. In effect, these have been video news releases purporting to be substantial paid advertising.

“We’re certainly not trying to be disingenuous,” Tad Devine, a senior Kerry adviser, said yesterday. “We’ve announced that we’ve created these and are prepared to use them at a time and place of our choosing.” He said the Kerry team had to be able to show Bush’s campaign “that the gun is loaded on this side, too.”

Evan Tracey, an analyst at TNSMI/Campaign Media Analysis Group, which tracks political advertising, called the phantom ads — which have routinely been covered by The Washington Post and other news organizations — “political product placement. But they’re getting away with it, because the press is playing them. When the press covers a new Bush ad, the story always adds ‘and Kerry released an ad of his own.’ He’s getting into the news chatter.”

Mark McKinnon, Bush’s media adviser, said the president’s campaign has never announced an ad that has not run.



Posted by Alan Brain at October 21, 2004 10:34 AM | TrackBack
Comments

The shows the true nature of the candidate… smoke and mirrors, pretend acting, a sham, a facade.

Posted by: Max Darkside [TypeKey Profile Page] at October 21, 2004 01:13 PM


…shows the true nature of the candidate… smoke and mirrors, pretend acting, a sham, a facade.

You forgot to mention “desperate”. Didn’t you get the memo???
Another violation like that and your “purveyor-of-right-wing-talking-points” card will be revoked!

Anyhoo, this shows some media manipulation creativity, no doubt the Repub campaign is jealous, but in giving credit where it’s due, we must acknowledge the Big Red Rove Machine is the zen f*cking master of this kind of stuff.

ok, ep

ok, ep

Posted by: elvispresley2k [TypeKey Profile Page] at October 21, 2004 02:08 PM

The responsible thing to do is simply turn off the TV.

Don’t see the ads, don’t deal with the manipulation of the media be either party.

the problem is still the same: media whores and politicians who buy them.

Posted by: skip [TypeKey Profile Page] at October 21, 2004 03:15 PM

Isn’t that just what Bin-Laden does? Make a video and the news plays it over and over.

The real question is… knowing that they do this, will the media stop playing them? This is in a response to the percieved extra air time that the SwiftVet adds got.

The real question is will the republicans respond in kind? Gotta hand it to the dems, they are proving that they have the real scum on their team.

Posted by: Agrippa [TypeKey Profile Page] at October 21, 2004 03:56 PM

Elvis,

“Another violation like that and your “purveyor-of-right-wing-talking-points””

I don’t get any talking points. Sure, I’m voted for Bush already, in part for the reasons I gave above. I also voted for Democrats in this coming election, so cool your jets. You are the one looking desperate with your animated replies.

Posted by: Max Darkside [TypeKey Profile Page] at October 21, 2004 04:25 PM

Hell. John O’Neill (you know, “Unfit…”) has reported MORE contributions to Dems than he has to Reps. If it’s the truth you’re lookin’ for EP, ask someone who’s been there and done that.

And I don’t mean forgin’ documents.

Posted by: Cap'n DOC [TypeKey Profile Page] at October 21, 2004 06:31 PM

“Gotta hand it to the dems, they are proving that they have the real scum on their team.”

That’s unfair. A little frugality on the democrats side is nothing next to republican voter intimidation tactics in the swing states. These methods are atrocious, they are infringing upon the constitutional right to vote of many Americans. That alone is reason enough not to vote for Bush, the president who wasn’t even elected by the people.

Posted by: redSun [TypeKey Profile Page] at October 21, 2004 06:56 PM

RedSun:

“Bush, the president who wasn’t even elected by the people.”

You know, you are right. Bush was elected by the Electors, who are appointed by the States, based on the votes of the People in the individual States.

That IS how it works in this great Republic, the United STATES of America.

Posted by: Max Darkside [TypeKey Profile Page] at October 21, 2004 08:01 PM

Redsun,

Please give proof. You can make whatever accusation you would like, but without backing it is utterly useless. We’ve heard these complaints a thousand times, and we’ve read the facts and found that they have no basis in reality.

Posted by: Amadeaus [TypeKey Profile Page] at October 21, 2004 10:31 PM

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