Election Season Gives Us Negative Campaigning & Controversy

By Ben Haber

September 11th, 2008

By Ben Haber

Every election season we go through negative ad campaigns targeted at taking down an opponent. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they’re accurate, other times they’re put together out of context.

Well, a recent ad made by John McCain’s campaign takes a swipe at Barack Obama, calling him sexist, and has caused quite a stir.

The ad features three clips – one from Sarah Palin, one from Barack Obama, and one from Katie Couric.

The second two clips, from Obama and Couric, both paint Obama as sexist – but were also both taken completely out of context.

Obama’s comment comes as part of a larger discussion, and he is actually talking about McCain’s policies as they relate to President Bush’s policies. Meanwhile, Couric’s comments are actually about Hillary Clinton’s campaign during the primaries.

CBS decided not to air the ad, claiming ‘copyright infringements’ and YouTube decided to block the video as well. However, thanks to the Web we’re able to see the ad McCain’s camp put together, which may have been produced for the purpose of becoming a viral video anyway.

What’s your take on the ad?

Entry Filed under: Branding & Advertising