Media Mix: Campaign Ads
Do They Really Approve Of Those Messages?
2008-09-24
By Eric Easter

In politics, simple questions almost never result in simple answers.

And so it is with what one of my colleagues thought was a simple question when she asked me “ Do the presidential candidates really approve of those message?”

And yes, sorry to say, it’s not a simple answer at all.

Not to get all Bill Clinton about it, but it all depends on what your definition of “approve” is. If by “approve” you mean that a candidate has decided that his campaign’s approach to an opponent will take on a certain tone and by extension the commercials are reflective of that tone, then the answer is yes, in theory they do approve of that message.

But if your definition of “approve” is that the candidate sat in on the strategy meeting to come up with the ad, saw the ad, agreed with it and gave his thumbs up, then the answer is decidedly no.

In fact, unless an ad shows the candidate addressing the camera and reading the copy, chances are pretty high that not only has the candidate not personally approved that message, he or she has likely never seen it either.

First let’s get the basics out of the way about how political commercial get made.

The phrase “I’m (candidate’s name here) and I approve this message” is a Federal Elections Commission concoction to distinguish ads paid for by the campaign from those driven by money from 527s and other independent and largely unregulated supporters.

Just a few years ago it used to be sufficient to simply have a voiceover artist say the words “Paid for by Shemp Howard for Mayor, Larry Fine, Treasurer.” But since those words were often squeezed and mumbled into the last few seconds of a commercial, listeners could be easily confused by sound-alike organizations. So it was decided that no less than the candidate’s voice and his or her explicit approval were required to guarantee that things were on the up and up.

If you, like many others, imagine there’s some super secret cabal of media manipulators deciding which underhanded method they will employ to tear down the opponent, then you would be very disappointed in the reality.

The kind of groundbreaking, deliberative, game changing commercials of old – the ones produced by the sinister cabals you envision - just aren’t done anymore. First, the 24-hour news cycle has dictated a much more reactive tone rather than pro-active. Second, all the sinister cabals now operate within Comcast Customer Service.

Presidential campaigns all have chief media consultants who determine which ads to do and where to run them – sometimes based on research, most times based on gut.

Generally, one guy from a consulting agency acts as a daily liaison to and works closely with the campaign manager shaping the candidate’s message – spin, speeches et al. If a certain message looks like it’s starting to resonate with voters, then that message is turned into a TV or radio commercial.

State and local campaign officials can also be integral to the process, often indirectly determining both the subject and placement of ads. They alert senior officials that a particular base of likely voters may be losing ground and needs to be energized. If that state official has determined that say, health care will be the main issue in Ohio, then a healthcare commercial gets made that runs only in Ohio.

But even that sounds more organized than it actually is, especially in the age of technology.

What’s changed most dramatically in 2008 is the speed with which ads can be turned around. Where in the past it may have taken days to execute a campaign, hone the message and get the final version out to media markets, Final Cut, PhotoShop, zip files, e-mail and a good editor can now turn around a fully produced spot in an hour – two max.

That rush to respond immediately to issues ultimately means less time to make a commercial, less time to consider its impact and indeed, almost no time at all to get a candidate’s actual approval.

So the definitive answer to the question is an absolute maybe or maybe not.

Eric Easter is Chief of Digital Strategy for Johnson Publishing Company. He writes about politics, culture and technology for ebonyjet.com.