Campaigns & Elections - August 2007 - (Page 59)

HEADON! Apply directly to the forehead. HEADON! Apply directly to the forehead. HEADON! Apply directly to the forehead. nless you zap all television ads using TiVO, you know this HeadOn! commercial. How could you forget? The 1970s production values, complete with clumsy computer animation, cheesy-looking models and garish green digital background catch the eye, while the narrator barks the refrain three times. The ad represents the bare-bones distillation of the formula prescribed by Madison Avenue in the 1970s: Mention the product name three times and dedicate the last five seconds to showing the product in its packaging as a customer would find it in a store. Today, thankfully, most marketing campaigns are much more creative (which is why those formulaic HeadOn ads are so striking). These days, many people watch the Super Bowl just for the commercials. And Burger King last Christmas sold more than two million copies of a $3 video game, which meant customers were paying to buy an intricate commercial. The new, improved advertising is thanks to an offMadison Avenue revolution in the 1980s, according to Bill Hillsman, president and CEO of North Woods Advertising. The creative renaissance in commercials, which sprouted up in places like Richmond and Minneapolis, eventually invaded the more staid halls of the biggest ad firms. The revolution’s insight was simple: Make people feel like they’re being entertained rather than being pitched (think Geico or Miller High Life commercials). But the creative revolution has, for the most part, not yet made it to the world of politics. “Most political campaigns are still stuck back in the 1970s ethos,” laments Hillsman, whose experience with privatesector clients forms his approach for making political ads. Hillman’s political ads are as creative as anything coming from Madison Avenue. His firm regularly wins awards for their campaign ads, such as the memorable spots that helped propel underdog Paul Wellstone to the U.S. Senate. In one TV spot, Wellstone raced through five issues in 30 seconds, explaining, “Unlike my opponent I don’t have $6 million, so I’m gonna have to talk fast.” But a campaign CAMPAIGNS & ELECTIONS 08.07 59

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Campaigns & Elections - August 2007

Cover Contents Editor’s Note Ames Straw Poll Cavalcade; Last Candidate Standing; The New Dollar-A-Year Guy; Web Videos That Can Change the Election Across State Lines: Campaign News from Around the Country People and Organizations Movers and Shakers: Ten Questions for Matthew Taylor and Philip de Vellis Campaign Consultant Sign-Ups Reel Time Cover Story: Building Blocks From Madison Avenue to K Street Money Can’t Buy Votes Dick Cheney: Roll Model for Millions Ames: Still Weird, Still Important How to Do Tougher, Quicker Crisis Management Online Cause-Based SocNets Lure Issue Voters The Great Exaggeration Why Primetime TV is Alive and Well, Politically Speaking Buyer’s Guide Tips for Toeing the Fine Line Between Employment, Friendship Managing Your Friend’s Campaign? Think ‘Consigliore’ Off The Record

Campaigns & Elections - August 2007

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