Friday, December 21, 2007

Christmas (and Holiday) Ads.... Who Ya Got?

Friday has usually been KBwD day when we discuss a little music and present a band that we really like and then…. we throw you over to a YouTube clip of that band for some grainy video and crappy audio. Don’t get us wrong – Love YouTube but as the staple format for our featured artist its lazy, it doesn’t do justice to that particular band and its insulting to you, so until we figure out how to, at the least, upgrade the audio content were going to put KBwD Fridays on hold.




So as you won’t be deprived of any music this Friday, we want to spread some holiday cheer by linking the Holiday/Christmas ads from the leading Presidential candidates all right here. We haven’t found anything from Fred or Mitt (oh, that’s right, Mitt's not a Christian) so we’d appreciate anyone throwing us a link of one or both guys. We’ll save our comments for later but please feel free to express your own feelings about the ads.

We’ll do the Democrats first:

Here’s the Breck Girl, John Edward's ad.

… and Hillary’s is here

Obama and Family can be found with a “stake in each other” here.


Now to the Republicans:

Rudy’s is here.

McCain taking a trip down memory lane, here.

… and here’s Huckabee’s now-famous “floating cross” ad.
Our thoughts:

John Edwards: Classic Edwards. Dripping compassion and sincerity for the “other America”. Honestly, would you have expected this guy to come up with any other ad? Well, he’s got his formula and he sticks to it but it falls flat. Bill Clinton would’ve knocked this same ad out of the park – not lil’ Johnny Edwards, though.

Hillary: The woman is an alien. There’s no other explanation for this ad. Rudy’s is the only other ad that includes campaign “planks” but just look at how good Hil’ feels about herself when she finds and gifts you and I “Universal Pre-K”. Only a person and a campaign lacking any sort of common touch would generate something this void of warmth and humility.

Barack Obama: Scary, as in scary good. Great call having the daughters at their knees and the wife doing the lead-in. This is precisely why this dude worries us more than Hillary… look at both ads and imagine who’s going to have a easier time selling us Universal…. whatever.

Rudy: We like it…. we think. This almost looks like an out-take while they’re trying to get the lighting right because Rudy seems loose and into it… maybe a little too loose. Points for foregoing the conventional… its definitely the anti-McCain ad of the bunch.

McCain: McCain will always get points from us for his service to our country which included time at the infamous “Hanoi Hilton”, so while this is an intensely personal ad, the weary cynic in us’ first thought was, “… now, did that really happen?”

Mike Huckabee: No. 2 behind Obama. Just your pastor-next-door dropping by to wish you a Merry Christmas. We watched it and just focused on Huck and his words and came up with a simple Christmastime litmus test: If you know, see or read about anyone making a stink about the “floating cross”.... that person is a loon. Period. End of story.
Let us know what you thought of the ads....

...Aw, what the heck. Here's a taste of one of the coolest songs of all time... from YouTube!


Christmas ad update.... Fred's is here... and by Mongo's suggestion we have this in lieu of a Mitt Romney Christmas ad. Our thoughts on Fred's ad are here.






10 comments:

B-Daddy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
B-Daddy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
B-Daddy said...

Dean,
Great public service in getting these ads in one spot.
I feel obligated to bring to your attention Peggy Noonan's take is that the "floating cross" was intentional. Given the stakes, your cynicism about the McCain ad is well placed. Read the article and maybe you will have the same question for Governor Huckabee.

I totally agree with you about the Clinton ad. (As commented earlier, I'm not down with her getting away with using her girl name.) Her team is totally out of touch with that ad. Not funny, not warm, not .... anything at all. Who has passion about these issues anyway?

Anonymous said...

What!!?? No Merry Xmas from the Obama Girl?? Maybe they're saving the best for last and it will be the present we get to open XMAS Eve.

As for Mitt -- Dude, just find a Mormon Tabernacle Choir YouTube XMas video. Bound to be one on there. My guess is he's polling at 90% in the bass and alto sections. If Mitt's campaign takes my suggestion, they would have the most bad-ass XMas commercial of them all AND would probably vault to the top of the Iowa polls...

Mongo

K T Cat said...

I had to listen to McCain's twice before I could make out the words. He's talking too fast.

I think Huckabee's is the best by miles because he talks like a human being. Hillary's is dreadful.

I liked Obama's until he got to the part where we have a stake in each other. All I could think of was Roger Corman having a field day with that one, creating a movie called "War of the Vampires" or something like that.

Romney's Christmas ad was great, too. Oh, wait a minute, he didn't have one. All he has are is crazed attack dogs like Hugh Hewitt trying to rip Huckabee's legs off. That's the Christmas spirit, too, isn't it?

K T Cat said...

Here's the best one yet.

Dean said...

KT, Thanks! Let me get my act together here and I'll put it up.

Dean said...

B-Daddy, Finally got around to reading the Peggy Noonan column. OK. Perhaps they knew what they were doing with the cross. And though its free advertisement its also fodder for columns like that which only confirm the suspicions of buffet conservatives like myself.

Love that last line about Isaiah 54 not being any defense for self-inflicted wounds. Noonan's the best.

BostonMaggie said...

Dean - Thanks for putting these all together.
B-Daddy - the Noonan piece was a good link. I heard excerpt of it on the radio and I must grudgingly agree, it's a hell of a scheme.

Dean said...

Bostonmaggie, It was my pleasure. Thanks for stopping by.