We published a piece today, written yesterday, detailing the flood of new campaign ads we were seeing. Well folks, the flood hasn’t stopped. It’s not about to break either, at least not until after Tuesday the 8th. Steve Rowe and Les Otten are back with two new ads and we’ll look at one from Bruce Poliquin that slipped past us.
Rowe’s first ad attempted to set itself apart with a little humor. We all know how Mainers can feel about those people “from away” trying to say what’s best. (Who doesn’t like that bear though?) Rowe gave us three quick points about his his record and that he was running to “fight for Maine families”. It wasn’t a bad ad, except for the fact that Rowe never looks at the camera when he is speaking about his record. We understand that he was talking to that quirky director, but it just felt off. Many questioned couldn’t understand why Rowe did not look to the camera. The ad failed to connect with voters.
Rowe got the message in his second ad. Rowe talks to the camera, to the voter. The ad takes one event from Rowe’s career as a legislator. In the particular situation, Bath Iron Works parent company said they would cut jobs is they did not receive a tax break. Rowe states that he held up the bill until provisions tying the tax breaks to the company maintaining pay rates above the state average and giving employees pension plan coverage. Rowe uses this event to argue that he will fight for Maine jobs and doing what’s right rather than what is popular.
This ad is a large improvement over Rowe’s first. He shows his experience while speaking directly to voters. Whether this is the best episode from Rowe’s career to highlight what he can do for Maine could be debated. That said, the ad accomplished what it was trying to say – “Steve Rowe will fight for Mainers”. And again, it did this much better than the first ad.
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Les Otten’s latest ad takes a personal approach. Otten speaks about his father, how he own a manufacturing plant in Germany, and subsequently fled to America after refusing to make weapons for the Nazis. “He said no to Hitler,” says Otten. Otten says that this principal has guided him his whole life. Otten again mentions that he has signed the “no tax” pledge and cut wasteful spending in government. “I wont just talk about jobs, I’ll create them.”
It would be safe to challenge Otten’s last point – can a governor create any jobs other than government ones? – but the first half of the ad is solid. The image Otten’s words create is powerful. One man standing up against Hitler. One man saying no to Hitler. Otten could have said the Nazis or the Fascists, but he specifically said Hitler. Hitler is one of the most evil men in history. Otten is conjuring the image of his father going against that man. Now imagine you are the average undecided voter seeing that ad. It could be enough to make you say you want this man as governor.
The activists out there might say no one would ever buy into Otten’s ad, but many of us are just too close. Either we’ve already picked a horse or follow the race too closely to see this ad with unclouded vision.
I might be reading into this too much, but also consider what Otten might be saying about his competition. He has been “attacked”, he has been “pushed around”, and Otten has stood up and said no. Whatever anyone thinks about the issues surrounding this campaign, the Otten team has the money to produce ads like this one and is going to make every penny count until Tuesday.
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Bruce Poliquin released another ad last week. Poliquin comes out swinging. He takes a jab at “career politicians” – Peter Mills and possibly Steve Abbott – and “failed business executives” – any guesses on who he means? Poliquin says Maine needs a business manager. He then explains his plan to set Maine on the right track; audit state programs, reduce spending, and cut taxes. Shots of the candidate are interspersed with families and businesses. Aside from the opening, the overall tone of the ad is positive, with the images pointing to the future. The subject matter continues Poliquin’s message that he is a strong business manager and that is exactly what Maine needs right now.
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