political ads Archives - Public Relations, Advertising & Social Media

With this being an election year, I have to brace myself for the inevitable bombardment of political ads. Soon every television station, newspaper, billboard, and politically conscious college kid will be telling me who to endorse. It’s just so tiring.

But of all the terrible, mean-spirited messages and images that come with elections, nothing gets under my skin like bumper stickers. Now, you might think that bumper stickers are an irrational and insignificant thing to be annoyed by and you’d be right. But they still drive me crazy and with any hope you’ll feel the same after this post.

To me, bumper stickers are tattoos for cars and much like tattoos, bumper stickers are much easier to put on then they are to take off. (I don’t care if they say easy removal; you’ll never full get that sticker off your car.) Since that level of commitment worries me, I think the only good tattoos and bumper stickers stand the test of time.

When I see someone who made the decision to apply a political bumper sticker to their car , it’s like they are telling me, “I make bad choices.” Whether I agree with their endorsement or not, I’ll never agree with them choosing to adorn their vehicle with something so trendy and fleeting. Even if your candidate wins, you still lose! You’re stuck with that bumper sticker for the long haul.

So before you vandalize your bumper with a sticker, I encourage you to stop and think, for my sake and your cars! Remember, a hot coed with a lower back tattoo turns into a middle-aged mom with lower back tattoo. So too will your bumper sticker be a dated reminder of past decisions, whether it’s “Obama 08,” “McCain Palin,” “W ’04,” or the sad “Gore/Liebermann” I saw the other day.

Political advertising in Iowa appears to be “politics as usual.” This December, $10 million was spent on television and radio ads in Iowa by Republican candidates and, to a larger extent, Super PACs.

$10 million could feed 40 million hungry children! This kind of spending, however, is not new to politics. And there’s nothing new about public disgust over the wastefulness of spending millions of dollars on political ads.

What’s new is the possibility of nominating a presidential candidate that has yet to spend a penny on advertising.

Thanks to Americans Elect, a nonpartisan nonprofit whose mission is to nominate a presidential candidate through an online voting process, there is a real possibility of having a third option on the ballot in 2012. A candidate chosen by the people and the issues, not advertising, and not a political party.

Advertisements do play a role in politics–mainly to inform the public that otherwise wouldn’t pay attention to politics, about the candidates. Yet it’s long overdue we have an alternative to choosing a candidate by the amount of money they spend on advertising, trying to sway public opinion with empty slogans, little information and misleading attack ads.

If Americans Elect succeeds in getting a third candidate on the ballot without spending big bucks on ads, people may decide it is no longer necessary to donate money to primary election campaigns.

A world with no political ads? I think I’ll survive just fine.

Bumper to bumper

New threat to political ads