Five Reasons Why the Obama Infomercial was Worth the Cost

[Demeter]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leah-mcelrath-renna/five-reasons-why-the-obam_b_139102.html

Let's be honest: the Obama infomercial was about comforting white Americans -- especially middle and working class white Americans. That said, it was arguably necessary and -- for what it was -- very effective.

Although only time will tell, it appears that the Obama infomercial accomplished exactly what it needed to do: soothing skittish white undecided voters without alienating current supporters.

1. With a set evocative of the Oval Office, Obama's presence in the piece served as a preview to what it would look like if he were to be elected as President. By providing a chance for the still uneasy undecideds to envision this future, it will likely work to move some of those voters out of their reluctance. Despite the McCain campaign's increasingly strident assertions to the contrary, Obama gave every appearance of being more than "ready" to step into the role of a world leader.

2. By showing numerous photos of Obama interacting with white working class Americans of different ages (in addition to black and Latino Americans), the infomercial leveraged the power of visual imagery to contextualize Obama as "one of us" within the minds of those voters. This is a welcome and much-needed change from advertisements by the campaign that have, up until now, sometimes focused too much on words alone to convey their messages. In addition, the narratives within the piece evoked emotional response and connection -- again, very welcome and somewhat different than the frequently more conceptual and cognitive appeal of previous Obama campaign advertising.

3. For those who resonate to the cognitive, the infomercial also clearly presented (again) specifics of Obama's plans to address the most pressing issues on the minds of many voters. If you believe their words, undecided voters tend to respond well to specifics and to talk about "needing more information" when asked about why they continue to be undecided.

4. If, however, you do not believe the words of the undecided voters tell the whole story, the piece was still effective. By any objective measure, Obama came across as reasonable, knowledgeable and -- most importantly for the sake of television -- likeable. As anyone who is familiar with media knows, that is the primary goal of any television appearance. People seldom remember more than one point someone makes (if they even recall one) when they appear on television, but they are strongly affected by how the person comes across.

5. Within the biographical parts of the piece, Obama's life story was reiterated as epitomizing the American dream. Certainly it can be said that it would take someone very determined to continue to characterize Obama as a "terrorist" within their own minds after watching the infomercial -- and those people would never vote for him anyway. Additionally, when Obama talked about his mother's death and about his own lack of perfection -- saying even "I will not be a perfect president" -- his humanity came through powerfully.

The Obama infomercial was a risk -- but the piece will likely go down in history as yet another way that the Obama campaign has forever changed the face of political campaigning through its creative use of media.


Barack Obama
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Let's be honest: the Obama infomercial was about comforting white Americans -- especially middle and working class white Americans. That said, it was arguably necessary and -- for what it was -- very ...
Let's be honest: the Obama infomercial was about comforting white Americans -- especially middle and working class white Americans. That said, it was arguably necessary and -- for what it was -- very ...
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- + pattyfish See Profile I'm a Fan of pattyfish I'm a fan of this user permalink
If Hilary was running she would have to work harder, go bigger...
same as Obama...they are not average white guys....

that is why they need the extra 30 minutes sales job.....

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 04:59 PM on 11/01/2008
- + Archivist1000 See Profile I'm a Fan of Archivist1000 I'm a fan of this user permalink
DO NOT WIMP OUT NOW! WE ARE COUNTING ON EACH OTHER!

Lines are long .......... take a COOLER full of snacks and drinks!

YOU CAN THEN SIT ON THE COOLER WHILE IN LINE!

HAVE A PARTY!

CELEBRATE YOUR VOTE >>>>>>>>>>>>> BUT VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 04:46 PM on 11/01/2008
- + walktothesea See Profile I'm a Fan of walktothesea I'm a fan of this user permalink
Please read the last one first... not experienced at posting a saga. LOL
***************************************************************************************************************

Let us all rise in our awareness and consciousness in this: we do not have to manifest all of the doom and gloom which is being thrust upon us by rote. We do not have to fulfill any kind of prophesy of end times, either. Imagine for a minute that all of the out-of-present-time predictions we are thrashed with constantly are a complete and utter fabrication with the sole intent of robbing us of our Will. Then, imagine World Peace... and you will see that it is totally doable. There is no lack of anything anywhere. Everything we require is right here.

Thank you!

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:00 PM on 11/01/2008
- + walktothesea See Profile I'm a Fan of walktothesea I'm a fan of this user permalink
I hate to be a buzz kill here, as this article does seem to hit a few points, but saying it was about "comforting white Americans" is somewhat racist and limiting. Maybe we were watching a different informecial. I saw people of all walks of life, all. I saw people of many races and income brackets. I include the endorcements. Those are people, too. I know... even though some are politicians. I was moved the most by Bill Richardson's comments as they came straight from the heart.

The most remarkable quality of this infomercial is the aftertaste it left. I felt totally relaxed after watching it, and so did everyone I spoke to later. This is not deep analysis, but when I asked "How did you feel?" I heard words like: peaceful, calm, happy, INSPIRED (this came up a lot), calm, uplifted. You get the drift. I am going out on a limb here, but I suspect that this response is due to the absence of negative references throughout the infomercial. I want to point out that stating the truth of someone's current challenges in life, e.g. it is difficult for them to pay bills, is different than the negativity we have all been treated to in the campaigns. (continued)

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 11:58 AM on 11/01/2008
- + whattacrock See Profile I'm a Fan of whattacrock I'm a fan of this user permalink
I hope you guys have a good backup plan if Obama is not elected. It's a hard fall froom the top of the world to the pit of dispair. Even dedicated Mac voters know that he could lose, so if he does, it will be a disappointment. Obama's loss will probably raise the intake lines at the psych hospitals to unprecedented levels. Good luck.

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:49 AM on 11/01/2008
- + munki See Profile I'm a Fan of munki I'm a fan of this user permalink
Watched it for the second time... Very touching...
First politician ever came across as a REAL person like us.
Vote!

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:47 AM on 11/01/2008
- + init See Profile I'm a Fan of init I'm a fan of this user permalink
We need this tall, dark, extremely bright young man to bring us all out of our mires that has taken ahold of us in the last 30 years. He is a new energy.

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:58 AM on 11/01/2008
- + JefCostello See Profile I'm a Fan of JefCostello I'm a fan of this user permalink
As a non American but an avid follower of American and world politics, I thought that the decision to air a 30 minutes infommercial is a big mistake. I know a thing or two about TV campaigns. I helped in creating a few (though not in the U.S). I thought that "steeling" 30 minutes of precious "enterteinment" time from the average American, will only alienate Obama and backfire. How wrong was I?
After about 5 minutes, watching the spot on HuffPost, I've realized that this is a completely different ballgame. I stopped the viewing and downloaded the whole piece for a comfortable TV viewing later on with my wife. I was not disappointed. This guy knows his game. He is already looks and sounds presidential. He's people managed to bland every positive, important and influential ingredient into a comforting, yet highly motivating film. Obama is obviously highly intelligent and he demonstrate an ability to adapt very quickly to any given situation. This is the kind of a leader that the U.S needs. This is the kind of leader that the world needs.

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:47 AM on 11/01/2008
- + justmekath See Profile I'm a Fan of justmekath I'm a fan of this user permalink
As a 47 year old woman voter I got just what I needed for this presentation. Comfort, reasurance,
confermation that he is the real deal.
Never before have I felt so conected to a candidate.
I am lifted with hope and pride that will spill over into my life, community, relationsips, and the way I see the world.
I feel at peace with him and in good hands.
I never thought that was even possible, considering the past 8 years and the hell hole we have been thrown into.
The future looks bright. Pull out your shades folks.

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 12:11 AM on 11/01/2008
- + fem56 See Profile I'm a Fan of fem56 I'm a fan of this user permalink
I remember working in a store getting free medical benefits that paid 100% or close to 100% of my expenses. I was very young and my salary was small but having these benefits was still a huge relief. I can imagine how it must have been for the older workers, The difference between the wealthy and the middle class has gotten so great with the changes in the tax structure as well as hugely inflated salaries at the upper end. In the 1970's CEO salaries where 28 x's about as high as workers and now I heard the estimate as being 370x's as high. "Joe the Plumber" you need to face reality.

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 11:13 PM on 10/31/2008
- + dollbaby See Profile I'm a Fan of dollbaby I'm a fan of this user permalink
About the Bush mandates...........there is something in the law that stops mandates from ougoing presidents to be revoked easily. First they have to berevoked within 30 days, and if Bush does them early enough a new president would not be in office in time to stop them. They can be change but ithe process involves investigations iand data collection nto why it should be changed: things like air quality postings for a period of time. What idiot would mess with the environment is already messsed up. Bush must be related to "global warming is not man-made Palin".

Obama has a smart team and if they can prevent this they will. If not "you betcha" he will put the investigations into place.

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 10:11 PM on 10/31/2008
- + TivoliEclipse See Profile I'm a Fan of TivoliEclipse I'm a fan of this user permalink
HEY REPUBLICANS! YOUR PERFORMANCE IS UNSATISFACTORY. YOU'RE FIRED!!!!

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 10:05 PM on 10/31/2008
- + rdiaz921 See Profile I'm a Fan of rdiaz921 I'm a fan of this user permalink
why sure. If they don't steal it.

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:22 AM on 11/01/2008
- + bonchesva See Profile I'm a Fan of bonchesva I'm a fan of this user permalink
Barack Obama is the best individual to enter politics since JFK. He has moved America like no one before him and made all of us believe we can get through anything together. He is a true motivator.

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 09:41 PM on 10/31/2008
- + JayeSF See Profile I'm a Fan of JayeSF I'm a fan of this user permalink
I agree with Ms. renna. This wasn't anything earth-shattering....it was just a reassurance. And in that respect, it will have worked quite well.

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 08:29 PM on 10/31/2008
- + tuneone52 See Profile I'm a Fan of tuneone52 I'm a fan of this user permalink
I have been a loyal democrat for most of my adult life Ive seen politicans come and go, Once in a while one comes along that has a certain spark, One who brings people together in way that is positive and good for the country, A person who can unite others to bring about change that will move our country into a new and brighter future. I say that person is Senator Obama. The campaign that the Senator has run is one of best Ive ever witnessed, He has been on message thruout while Mcain has resorted to personal attacks and has been floundering and erratic. Obama has clearly proven he is ready to be president and can put America on the right path to solving our problems here at home and around the world. These are trying times for our country and we need a man who has the energy and the right temper to guide our country. Obama has proven to be a steady strong voice for the middle class. The time for change is now back Obama and give our country the leadership it deserves!

Reply Favorite Flag as abusive Posted 08:11 PM on 10/31/2008
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[2Design]

1. ross perots charts and air time were very effective and got him 22%

of the vote - which was high for an independent

[4lbs]

2. $7 million for 35 million pairs of eyeballs. That's 20 cents per person for 30min of their time.

Extremely good use of funds.