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October 30, 2006
Advertisers, Take A Bow For Good Behavior.
I read Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard's blog posting on the betting line for party change in Washington in the upcoming election. This is not a political blog...it's a marketing blog. But, I am compelled to note that we apparently are all OK with our politicians acting like slimeballs while requiring advertisers to quell their bare-knuckled tendencies.
In advertising, we don't permit blatent attack ads, especially those that stand on tenuous claims, innuendo or outright fiction. We recognize that ads that never even mention our name, only disparage a competitor, are likely to raise suspicion. We hold ourselves to moderately "ethical" standards, but perhaps more critically, we presume that lies (once exposed) are bad for business in the court of public opinion. Yet in politics, we permit the type of race-baiting, rumor-mongering, media-manipulating stuff that is happening in Tennesee, Virgina, and New Jersey, just to name a few. What do I mean "permit?" Well, as voters, we are apparently happy to let it happen since we allow the crap to influence our votes (or so the research says.)
Both sides in this election are reprehensible, as the prospect of a change in power in Washington seems to be bringing out the very worst in everyone. Prosaic ads like the Bloomberg spot for Chris Shays in which he talks only about the candidate's record seem almost childish against the wizardry and creativity of the Harold Ford attack ad from a couple of weeks ago.
Personally, I hope that "slime backlash" ends up surprising lots of candidates who thought it was OK to act like a childish boor and results in a raising of the collective IQ in Washington by at least a couple of points...maybe even getting us over 90.
Oh, and my wager on the Karlgaard question is Republican Senate, Democratic House and the lamest of lame-duck administration's as Dubya wanders around Washington looking for friends anywhere.
Posted by jcioban at October 30, 2006 12:18 PM
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