Making Campaign Ads More Honest by Ron Howard

[rsmith6621]

Instead of candidates hiring people like yours truly, to create campaign media that works on both conscious and subconscious levels to sway the voting public, what if all TV ads were, by law, only allowed to feature the candidate, with, say, the American flag as the backdrop, alone, speaking directly to the camera? Perhaps the words also subtitled on the bottom of the frame. No music, no graphs, no cut-away shots of disturbing or sentimental images. Only the candidate, talking to us, the voters.

Level the playing field. Don't make election popularity largely a matter of which candidate hires the most creative and effective propagandists. Insist that it be, instead, a running conversation with the public.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ron-howard/making-campaign-ads-more-_b_754821.html

[dddem]

1. I'd like to see campaign ads down to the bare bones

Just talk about the candidate's stand on the issues. Don't show his or her face, don't even discuss the party affiliation. People (at least the people I talk to) won't even listen to the thoughts of a candidate if they're not with the "right party". Let's just look at their voting records, hear what they all think, what they plan to do and how they plan to pay for it, and make our decision. Simple.
I know it's ridiculous, but a girl can dream, can't she?

[Fumesucker]

2. That format seems like it would favor the most physically attractive candidate..

Unfortunately people are swayed more than most will admit by things like physical attractiveness.

Sarah Palin is a prime example of this, if she were average looking for her age she would have nowhere near the name recognition she does now.

[surrealAmerican]

3. I wonder why he thinks that would be inherently more "honest".

Aside from favoring more photogenic candidates and those with attractive voices, he ought to know that words can mislead quite as easily as pictures.

[Douglas Carpenter]

4. that's a great idea - but I don't believe that such requirements would hold up in court

- especially now that we have a U.S. Supreme Court that considers unlimited spending by "independent" committees to be "free speech."

[Scuba]

5. The Powers That Be don't want a level playing field.

[mdmc]

6. r

socialist

[ThomWV]

7. Do that and only "good looking" people will be elected, if blonds are in that year a blond will win.

[LWolf]

8. That, and the politician would have to offer verifiable facts, in context,

talk about his or her positions, and refrain from referring to opponents, directly or indirectly.