December 19, 2007

Any Floating Crosses?

Some people disliked the Mike Huckabee Christmas ad now getting airplay in Iowa. Complaints included too much emphasis on religion for a religious holiday, a floating cross that turned out to be a bookshelf, and Huckabee's alleged subliminal evangelical messaging. Rudy Giuliani has a new Christmas ad out, too Anything subliminal here?

He does have Santa Claus in his ad. Perhaps that's subliminal for people to consider sending "gifts" in the form of campaign donations. Of course, for gifts, Rudy decided to go less subliminal here:

I'll leave it to readers to dissect the deeper meaning of Rudy's mention of holiday fruitcake.

The second ad intends to be more political, and may get some mixed reviews for mixing the holiday with the campaign. The first ad seems more like the genuine Rudy, and will succeed for the same reason Huckabee's ad worked so well. It allows voters to get past the campaign and gain a sense of the men behind the podiums. With Huckabee, we see the warmth that has endeared him to his growing base. Rudy shows us humor and goodwill. If McCain ran one of these, it should show his sincerity, and with Romney his family.

Nothing about these ads are objectionable. It's just politics as usual, and a welcome respite from the last-minute negative campaigning to come. They may even prompt a run on red sweaters at the shops this season.

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» Huckabee’s Ad Answers Campaign Fatigue from Adam's Blog
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