So upon viewing a few times, something was bothering us. We noticed that the last image of Daub seemed to be…backwards. It was as if we were looking at Hal in the mirror while he was standing right next to us.
So, with a little assistance from our pal Photoshop, we took a look at the first head shot image (Pic 1) and then compared it with the last head shot image (Pic 2), and then flipped it (Pic 3).
(click on image for larger version)
And sure enough! They inverted the image on the final part!
Now the way we see it, Daub should either get a free edit from his media company, or was this…intentional?
The theme is that "we need a change."
So is the change "An Inverted Hal Daub"?
A Hal Daub who listens instead of talks, is mellow instead of intense, who…parts his hair on the right instead of the left?
We don’t know, but if that’s what they were going for…man, that’s subtle.
(So beyond all that, what do YOU think of the ad? Not the timing of it, or even of the candidate. What do you think of the ad itself? Let's hear it, politicos...)
Posts
16 comments:
I think you slipped below rational discorse on this one.
That's not a comment on the ad and will therefore be stricken from the record.
Hal's image flipping back and forth is a little strange, and I don't think I have ever heard him sound and look so subdued. It’s a mistake to not let the public see his energy and passion.
Mentioning the 93 county listening tour is good, but the average person thinks Washington DC has always been broken, and then my mind goes to "Why didn't Hal stay in Congress to try to fix it then?" Maybe it’s just my warped brain, but I don’t think they intended for people to make that particular mental leap.
Unless Hal is planning on leading the second American revolution what's going to fix "broken" DC? Short of that, introducing a bill to legalize dueling between members of the senate/house would be a great idea...even better than term limits.
My guess is that it was an inadvertant flip in the edit room or, perhaps on purpose because they liked the shot, but needed to balance the frames? Either way, it's a little too "Black Helicopterish" to read theory into it.
As far as the Post, is the addition of the blog name onto the photo frames an effort to try and prevent others from claiming the story as their own?
I really can't blame you with all the intellectual theft that occurs these days!
Daub's message has two points, vote for me because:
1) I have visited 93 counties.
2) Washington is dysfunctional; I will fix it.
As to the first, when did it become a political asset to have a minivan and a map? What are his plans for the 93 counties?
For the second, politicians have been saying since I was a little kid that Washington was broken, nothing new.
I liked Daub until this ad, now I think he is just the same old politician as everyone else.
First, kudos to SS for the backward headline. It took me a while, but eventually I do catch on to some things...
The flipping of images is not inadvertantly done in advertising. It is purposeful. What is peculiar in this case has to do with the reason images are usually flipped. Usually one's image is flipped intentionally to give a distorted but recognized view of a person...this is usually done in negative spots against a candidate. The idea is to give a deformed view of a person that's just enough to prick one's sensibility toward a person, but not enough to let on how. Depending on lighting, however, I've seen it done to make one look younger. Perhaps that was the feeling with Daub's ad? It is fairly common to tinker with images to get the "feel" one desires. But if this was a purposeful, subliminal tactic...WOW...they're breaking new ground.
Visiting the entire state became relevant when a person wants to represent the entire state (not just the parts that have an easy airport). "Having a minivan and a map" became relevant ever since Mike and Stephanie went on there post election speaking tour (1st post) and announced that they did it and the 80 or 90 some thousand miles they put on their "Chevy Corsica" (until they wrecked it!) By the way, how do you know that they didn't take Mary's car?
As far as Washington being broken, yes, it probably always has been broken. It still works though. The only reason it is more partisan in nature is because of our 24 hour newsworld that covers even the most inane stories to the point of nauseum (?) and the use of the internet, where everyone acts like a legitimate source of fact, and the uninformed believe them.. It is kind of like the fact that we have always known that War is ugly and violent, but we never had those facts shoved in our face 24/7 the way we do today.
I say, let the elected officials do their job. Let the soldiers do their job. And, above all, require the voters to do their's!!
“Washington is broken”? If I had a dime for every time I heard a political cliché, I’d be a very rich fella. It’s clear as mud to me that Hal looks fresh as a daisy but his campaign theme is slow as molasses in the winter when it comes to breaking new ground.
These stupid clichés are as welcome as a skunk at a lawn party but apparently candidates think they’re the best thing since sliced bread and betting the farm that voters find them better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick.
Seriously, I have such a bee in my bonnet for these painful regurgitated campaign slogans because not only does it display a woeful lack of originality and creativity, but they’re useless as tits on a bull. Remember, water doesn’t run uphill and you can’t get blood from a turnip.
I’m keeping my ear to the rail for a candidate who is different, fresh as the daisies, and realizes that when life gives you scraps you gotta make a quilt. You got to!
Is there anyone out there like that? I don’t know, but I suppose we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Until then, it’ll just be more of the same.
Running against Washington is a tired cliche, but then again, with Congressional approval ratings so laughably low, maybe this is a good time to run an anti-Washington ad. If it annoys wonks like this blog's readers, that might be a small price to pay if it resonates with the normal folks.
Daub has always had very detailed, often visionary, occasionally kooky ideas about how to make Nebraska better - I just hope he supplements his "boo Washington!" theme by emphasizing his ideas, which have the ability to get people interested, if not excited. I think he'll have to present more substance if he hopes to beat Johanns. Of course, he has plenty of time to do so.
I think Hal is laying the groundwork nicely. First he tells everyone about his 93 county sweep across the state (proving he's committed to "listening"), next he emphasizes what is broken with our system, next I think he'll come out with his promised "Agreement with Nebrakans," which should detail his ideas on how he can help fix said broken system.
In my view, Hal's off to a great start! He HAS to stress he's visiting all 93 counties so he's not seen as just "Mr. Omaha."
The Boss from Beemer says.....
The ad is a pretty good one. Not sure if people really want to hear anything this early....
But your manifesto is better than the ad. Pure genius, SS.
Gene Frenkel says:
As long as we are scrutinizing the ad and his theme "Washington is not working," I thought it was ironic that the first Nebraska county highlighted on Hal's map was none other than...Washington County.
Gene F.,
Outstanding random observation.
SS
My favorite of Hal Daub is from this photo from his "Listening Tour" album
Big John's
Big John's is quite the political venue to visit...right?
From the Lincoln Journal Star...
Recent polling results.
Johanns: 58
Bruning: 16
Daub: 12
Here is the link:
http://www.journalstar.com/news/politics/doc46fac0d97c7f0024469240.txt
Post a Comment