pick another protein? a masterclass in political campaign messaging
did you hear that Mississippi went blue? general power of the bluenami aside, I think this is why:
in my (untrained and inexperienced) opinion, this is the best political campaign ad that I have ever seen. I think it is a masterclass in what modern political campaigns need -- it proves an actual understanding of how people communicate, what is important to voters, and the entire point of being an elected official.
first and foremost, I (and the vast majority of other people) do not like seeing attack ads. they are emotionally exhausting and usually overly... everything. it's hard not to have the "this person is the devil and you should be scared of them" theme affect your impression of both candidates, including the one that "approved this message."
for an extreme example, look at what happened in the Ohio race. Vivek Ramaswamy released a campaign ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother, the latter claiming Amy was a liar. yes, it's impactful to see someone's mother saying, "don't make her your governor." but, in a turn of events that I would consider pretty obvious and easy to predict, this ad backfired... hard. not only did it leave the door open for Amy Acton to release a better-executed rebuttal ad (below), but it also made people question Vivek's moral judgement and character because he went too far and crossed a line.
thank god people reacted the way they did, honestly. it proves that the cult of MAGA is not a popular understanding of the world; the majority of people -- normal people -- do not think politics is a free-for-all reality show where saying cruel and hurtful things makes you the winner.
the ads that plagued my tv experience for months were Kathy Hochul's attack ads against Bruce Blakeman (also below). I rarely saw this full-length version (because that's a lot of airtime to pay for, and I am not in a demographic that uh... really needed convincing not to vote republican), but it is fairly representative of the tone and content of the majority of campaign ads, in my experience. granted, I grew up in a swing state, so while some of my friends were like "oh my god why are there so many political ads this is horrible and so much worse" and I was like "you know Hochul like barely won last time, right?", seeing shit like this constantly just turns into background noise for me.
and let the record show that this Trump-centric, anti-ICE, anti-tarrif rhetoric is what most political pundits are citing as the biggest reason the blue wave was as strong as it was. people are sick of the bullshit, so I at least commend Hochul's campaign on recognizing what voters actually cared about. one of my close neighbors was flying flags, spray painting their hedge, and sticking signs in their yard in support of Trump during the 2024 election cycle, and they have since removed all paraphernalia -- only a lonely American flag remains. people are sick of the bullshit. in a way, Blakeman knew that too; he ran a very traditional Republican campaign about lowering taxes and utility bills. cool. whatever.
but what none of these ads -- event Amy's very effective rebuttal to Vivek -- actually manage to do is activate a traditionally apathetic/hopeless/non-voting base. anger and spite fuel MAGA because they are incredibly powerful, but they burn fast and bright, and people are sick of the bullshit. we have seen such horrific new coverage of so many people dying in America and abroad in all of the ridiculous war zones we create, fund, or allow to continue. no one can afford shit anymore because the economy is so screwed up (but thank god the AI bubble will never burst! the tech bros are celebrating on their yachts!). Scott Colom's ad telling folks to "pick another senator" does the exact opposite.
here are the things I notice in this ad:
- the "attack ad" portion is not edited together with scary music. it's a clip of an actual broadcast on an actual new program (probably a recognizable one to most viewers) that, while short and punchy, is not taken out of context as an obvious sound bite. to me, this buys the ad such an incredible amount of ethos -- it doesn't feel overdramatic, it just feels transparent and real. anytime politics feels transparent and real, I am automatically more inclined to agree, and I don't think I'm the only one.
- the music swells into a punchy beat that is both reminiscent of more modern hip-hop/pop music, with a distinctly 70s "Another One Bites the Dust" flare to it, which to me suggests cross-generational appeal that the more traditional attack ads (with their Law & Order SVU -ass music choices) do not capture.
- the first clip following the news is a white man that looks like the most generic dad ever in the whole world. he's wearing one of those weird half-polo half-golf shirt combos that his wife probably picked out because she liked the floral pattern. he's in his backyard that is nicely landscaped and designed with entertaining in mind. he's grilling burgers that look half-way decent, if imperfect enough to suggest that they're actually food and not some weird AI thing. and most importantly, he says the ad's tagline: "pick another protein? ... I'd rather pick another senator".
- the part that I ellipse'd out was said man saying "shit" (or really, "shiiiiii") in the way that only someone from the south ever would. I think it's technically not a swear word, since he doesn't say the T, but I am not familiar enough with the current state of the "AAVE becoming a mainstream way people talk outside of racial context" thing to really know. what I do know is that it's attention grabbing and deeply relatable. because like, shit. you know?
- the next clip is an older black woman in a restaurant that looks like it's actively serving other customers and, notably, is not a film set. she's wearing another outfit that screams "I am a normal person and these are my normal clothes". she says the tagline, this time adding "she done lost her damn mind" (again, AAVE and general relatability on full display).
- the final clip is an older white woman grabbing frozen food at what appears to be a grocery or convenience store with lower-middle class vibes. she starts the tagline, but gets gets cut off from saying "what the fuck" (leaving Scott himself to finish her sentence). she's surrounded by a real and normal looking soda and cooler aisle. she's wearing a t-shirt (sure, it's bright pink, but it's just a t-shirt). her hair and her glasses and her vibe is just... NORMAL. do you see what I'm saying? it's like the Colom campaign just went to people and said "did you see what your senator said?" and if they said "damn that's crazy and weird" they were like "can we film your saying that for an ad".
- last but not least, as alluded to previously, Scott Colom himself swoops in for the final say: "pick another senator instead." he's laughing. he's wearing a sweatshirt. he's in his kitchen, which is a normal looking kitchen for normal people. the blinds are closed behind him, he has a weird number of stemmed-glasses, and his microwave isn't even stainless-steel. we absorb this stuff though, even if we don't notice it. anyone worth their salt in marketing knows that!
so you'll notice a couple common themes: the repeated tagline with funny interjections and the fact that everyone in the ad seems like normal people doing normal things. and they're all saying "well that's stupid. I'm just going to vote for someone different and better", implying that it really is that easy to just... pick another senator.
why is this so important, then? quoting from Politico, "[Scott Colom] will be the first Black senator elected in Mississippi since the Reconstruction era — and the first Democrat from the state headed to the Senate in 44 years." flipping the Senate seat in Missi-fucking-sippi was NOT easy. in fact, it was a massive upset that is the craziest thing ever. so how did it happen?
again, the larger culture around the bluenami shouldn't be discounted. etc. but Scott Colom ran a campaign that has the vibes of this ad: normal people who care about normal problems who change their minds. instead of the messaging being "please oh my god we need every voter can you please give me even like $1 because I really really really need it" (which obviously did work for Talerico, so who am I really to criticize?), it's simple: if you don't like what's going on, pick someone else. of course, then it's the strategy of them placing himself as the obvious second choice, appealing to a wide variety of voters with his talk of faith and focus on particular issues, and all that good stuff. but reminding people, in an era where most Americans distrust the government, it's politicians, and the general idea that elected officials are meant to serve us, Scott Colom says "it could be different, and all you have to do is pick someone else."
he makes it casual for a state with some of the most die-hard MAGA cultists that have an entire organization dedicated to reintegrating them with society once they change their minds. there's a shitton of social pressure around doubling-down on all the bullshit and just digging further down, and Scott says "it's actually not that big of a deal. you can just vote for someone else."
also, in the modern era of campaigns happening in traditional media and social media, it should be noted that this ad works just as well viewed on TikTok as it does on the TV at the gym. it's got easy to read captions, quotable messages, a short run time, and whatever the hell ✨viral appeal✨ is. I love it.
p.s. the fact that the senate is like 10 people away from a democratic supermajority is the actual craziest thing ever in the whole world. it felt like a lofty goal to regain control, let alone start thinking about the possibility of overriding a presidential veto. holy cannoli. I hope Schumer and Jeffries don't screw it up by being lame and useless.