Oh My
The newest Bush ad is excellent:
ABC's The Note:
Here's the Reagan "Bear" ad talked about above:
Bear was good. Wolves is very good.
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ABC's The Note:
As for the new Bush ad, the AP says the spot is, "reminiscent of Ronald Reagan's 'Bear' ad that was credited with framing the 1984 race, (and) shows a dense forest from above.
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One Bush adviser tells ABC News, "The ad was produced and tested months ago. Voter reaction was so powerful that we decided to hold the ad to the end of the campaign and make it ONE of the closing spots. It will run to the end."
The campaign says the ad will start to air today on national cable and in local markets in battleground states. The AP is reporting the ad will run in 14 states and that with the RNC, the campaign is spending about $15 million total on TV ads this week.
Here's the Reagan "Bear" ad talked about above:
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Bear was good. Wolves is very good.
23 Comments:
The wolves ad works by a standard movie "narrative"
device, similar to that used in verbal narratives where bits of information without immediate connection are scattered about, creating a need or demand on the part of the reader for an explanation as to how all this fits together. This is the key: the viewer wants to know what this all means--quite an achievement in political ad where normally initial resistance can be expected. Whoever came up with the idea of having the wolf pack pictured statically for a few moments, then spring to life has a keen sense of narrative timing.
By Michael McCanles, at 12:30 PM
The previous comment is a very good discourse on how and why the ad works so well. The reaction is to connect the dots and make evil apparent "outside the walls" while it looks for an opening. That is a beautifully crafted piece.
Bush wins 45 states.
Dan Patterson
By Dan Patterson, at 12:59 PM
Sorry about being anonynous....
For humor, I thought about how funny it would be to re-run the bear ad with a bin laden beard under the bear's face.
Not as hefty, but much more funny - and everyone would get the point.
Any thoughts? Some creative web guy could set that up pretty quick - I tried, but copying the ad was difficult.
BB
By Anonymous, at 1:44 PM
It is a nice ad, but I can't agree that it is better than the bear ad. Reagan faced an organized left-wing that was trying to convince the American people that the Soviet Union was not a real threat. The Reagan '84 bear ad is a classic because it calmly and succinctly and ever-so-reasonably demolished the notion that America would be safe with a President who accepted this naive notion.
Bush faces a different dynamic. The public overwhelmingly believes terrorists pose a threat. What we debate now -- largely -- is the best approach to facing the threat. The hurdle this ad seeks to overcome thus is lower. The Bush ad also contains elements of a traditional campaign ad (my opponent voted for intelligence cuts) while the Reagan ad never mentioned Mondale, or any particular legislation. The Soviets weren't even mentioned by name. It was a statement of philosophy only, illustrated through nature -- yet, everyone knew exactly what the Reagan campaign was talking about. Very difficult to pull off; yet flawlessly accomplished.
This Bush ad is good, plus it is pretty to look at. I think it achieves extremely well what its creators intended. But it is not better than the Reagan '84 "bear in the woods" ad. No insult intended to those who produced it.
By Amy Ridenour, at 1:56 PM
The new ad is serious. With my political beliefs it elicits a nod, "Right."
I only turned 8 in 1984. The Bear ad, to me at this time, is very well done and even a little humorous. "If there is a bear..." Heh.
Both ads hit the same point: one candidate sees the adversary and calls it like it is, while the other seems more concerned with the interests of PACs and the UN than the freedom of the American people.
By Anonymous, at 1:57 PM
The Bear ad, I can tell from the voiceover, was done by the immortal Hal Riney, creator of "Morning in America" as well as hundreds of memorable commercial ads. I presume he's retired, as I haven't heard his voice anywhere lately. The Wolves are good, but not Riney good.
By Anonymous, at 4:01 PM
Riney sold his firm a number of years ago, but stayed on to continue to run it. He did however dramatically reduce his involvement. At the time I was involved with one of his major clients, and in my opinion, the quality of the work went down substancially.
Riney was (is) a brilliant ad guy. Too bad he seems to be done.
Endaar
By Anonymous, at 4:52 PM
Anyone else see a problem with the "Even after the first terrorist attack" line? I don't think it's necessary, and it'll let lefty commentators try to say this is misleading because it's in reference to 1993 and not (as most viewers are meant to assume) 9/11. That'll let them talk about how Bush's new head of Intel also supported the same cuts, etc. The Bear ad shows how a well-crafted message can deny opportunities to rebuttal. This seems to lead with it's chin.
I think it would have been more effective to just mention intelligence cuts inspecifically, as just a general attitude thing. I think they went to far trying to tie it to 9/11, which brings in the posibility of counter-argument.
I think that with Bear as the model, avoiding any reference to specific political acts/facts would have made this ad stronger.
By Anonymous, at 6:05 PM
Great ad! Love the production and narrative. The obvious metaphor is that the wolf is silent, sometimes alone and sometimes in a pack. You never know. A lone shoe-bomber or a pack of terrorists in Madrid.
Did anyone catch the mythic and childhood dimension, too.
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/kids/lyrics/badwolf.htm
By fix buffalo, at 9:00 PM
One brilliance of 'Wolves' that no one has mentioned is that by invoking 'Bear', the Bush campaign is getting two ads for one. Every place you see Wolves being discussed, Bear is also discussed, and both ads make the same basic point: you may be pro-choice, but choosing weakness puts you back in the food chain.
By Anonymous, at 10:48 PM
The bears ad was much better. I liked the way it zoomed out and suddenly the bear is not just lumbering out there on its own, but right next to a person. It's a shocking moment. This new ad just doesn't have that same quality. The way the wolves jump over each other doesn't look very threatening...
By Michael, at 11:11 PM
As far as being answered by critics, as compared to "Bear," most people who see the ad will never hear the criticisms of it, and I think it's powerful. My only nitpick is that I think it would have been more effective to have a static shot of the president. As is, it looks as if he's telling the person on the phone that he approved this ad.
By Anonymous, at 3:54 AM
If there is a bear...
What a difference 20 years make. Back then, I thought the Gipper was weak for ending the add "if there is a bear..." dammit all, everyone knows the soviets are out there.
Nowadays, I see "if there is a bear..." as a master stroke. It evokes the "dammit all" reaction from guys like me that only helps Mr. Reagan. The guys in the middle and on the left of me are stimulated to contemplate the existence and nature of the bear and that contemplation draws them back into what they just heard.
I would have liked to see the wolves ad include something like "if there is a bear..." to make one ask if those wolves are a danger or just a nuisance. But I've learned not to trust my judgement.
Having the wolves stationary and then get up and walk toward the camera is narrative genius. Kudos.
By steve poling, at 10:28 AM
The guy ignored pre 9/11 warnings, he sends us into a war of choice with too few troops, listens to none of his generals, creates a great new unstable country for terrorists to exploit, is apparently oblivious to casualties....yeah, that Chimp is really great at protecting us. By the way, those puppies in the ad are cute, where can I get one?
By cranky old fart, at 3:30 PM
War isn't about cute wolves. It's about death. How about a real ad about war? http://www.winbackrespect.org/ads/
By cranky old fart, at 3:37 PM
http://sddc.blogspot.com/2004/10/bears-and-wolves.html
Here's my alternate script:
We all know they exist. But what are they, really? Some say they're dangerous, vicious brutes who attack without warning. They must be exterminated before they attack us - or our children. Others say they're merely misunderstood, that we must learn to live together. That we can be friends.
[shot of pack moving toward camera] Nice doggy...?Whaddya think?
By Corrie, at 4:45 PM
The incumbent president in a statistical dead heat less than 2 weeks before the election?
This ad reeks of fear and desperation.
Prediction: No presidential Library for President "select" Bush. Will his daddy pay for a wing off of his own Liberry? They can fill it with kidz books...
By Anonymous, at 5:58 PM
http://www.factcheck.org/article291.html
Would Kerry Throw Us To The Wolves?
10.23.2004
A misleading Bush ad criticizes Kerry for proposing to cut intelligence spending -- a decade ago, by 4%, when some Republicans also proposed cuts.
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Thanks for mentioning factcheck.org Mr Cheney ;)
By Anonymous, at 12:29 PM
Bush to America:
"The sky is falling, the sky is falling."
Are you falling for it?
By Anonymous, at 4:25 PM
I like puppies. When is Bush going to focus on terrorists instead of having our soldiers slaughtered in Iraq while pissing off a billion Muslims with no advantage for us?
By Anonymous, at 2:20 PM
Bush's choice for intelligence chief, Porter Goss, wanted than bigger cuts in the intelligence budget in 1995 than Kerry ever proposed. How do you spell "hypocrisy?"
By Anonymous, at 2:28 PM
The bear ad was good. It involved the viewer in actual thought processes, which is what caught you.
The wolf ad looks like the intro to a PBS Nature episode or a remake of Call of the Wild. As a political ad it's just lame.
Nice doggies.
By Anonymous, at 4:55 PM
Personally, I'd have to say that "The Bear" was more powerful than "The Wolves" if for no other reason than it makes no refrence to political parties or candidates. As such, it could come back 20 years later and help Bush win this election too.
It's funny though, look at all the liberal cowards that don't post any information. How can you take someone who has to post as 'anonymous' seriously? Which brings us back to the commercials, and how they demonstrate how liberals are cowards ... talk about truth in advertising.
By Reactionary, at 8:35 PM
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