The 'Bush in 30 seconds' ads

I decided to take out some time tonight to view each of the Bush in 30 Seconds ads that have been named finalists in MoveOn.org's contest. I've seen a few comments about the coming though here, mainly from conservatives complaining about MoveOn promoting too much hate, so I thought I should see them for myself. Below are my reviews on each one - you can see all of the for yourself at the link above.

Child's Pay

I sort of liked this one. The ad uses the imagery of children doing adult jobs to bring home the point that it's our children and grandchildren who will be paying off the deficit that Bush has created. While the metaphor doesn't necessarily make a whole lot of sense if you think about it too much (is the ad's creator suggesting that kids will have to take working at hard-labor jobs in the future to pay off the deficit?), the initial impact the ad has is pretty good. C+

The point the ad is trying to make is good, but it has one major flaw: The "catch" is so painfully transparent, that I'd be surprised if anyone who saw it couldn't tell within the first few seconds exactly where the ad is going. The actor has gotten less than a sentence into his monologue when I thought "Oh, ok. We're going to compare America to the 'evil' Arabic countries we're trying to bring democracy to. Next." I had no interest in the rest of the ad, because I didn't need to. The point its trying to make is a good one, but this isn't the way to try and make it. D -

This one didn't really provoke much of a reaction, good or bad, really. I was a little bothered because a couple of the sound bites used struck me as having been "shortened" a bit, putting them into a slightly different context, the most notable one being the comment from the State of the Union address where Bush said that "The British have learned" that Saddam is trying to obtain uranium. By dropping off the part about the British, it makes it sound like Bush claimed Saddam had uranium. As we all know, that's what he wanted all of us to think he was doing, but he wanted to make the claim deniable, so he blamed it on the British. When we, then, turn around and use only the shortened version, we open ourselves up to criticism from the right claiming that we took the line out of context. The thing is, whether the British are mentioned or not, we now know that Saddam wasn't trying to obtain uranium, so either way, the statement is still a lie. Using the fuller version, though, is more defensible, which, in my opinion, needs to be considered when making an ad like this. D

One of the better ones. It, too, uses the shortened quote, which I'd rather not see, but the impact of the rest of the ad is strong. The quickly changing pictures down in the corner really helps bring home how many have died in this war. B

This one is really good. The kids do a great job of delivering their lines, and it's a nice touch to watch all of the parents faces turn from pride to horror as they hear what their children are claiming. The individual points are well made. All-in-all a very good ad. A

Not bad. The actors are all likable and the message is strong. For some reason, though, it comes off - to me at least - as being a bit "overwrought," which diminishes it's effectiveness overall. C

An excellent ad. The use of the muted images behind the moving text give them a strong impact by making them seem even more somber than they already are. The "count up" on the number of soldiers killed in Iraq is effective, and the tagline - "Lies: The Real Weapons of Mass Destruction" is just beautiful. The sound bites from the State of the Union Address all seem to be presented appropriately, and the ad just hangs together very well. This would be an extremely effective ad. A+

A cute idea, but the voice of the announcer on the radio is a bit too hard to hear, which blunts the message considerably. If it can be re-produced with a clearer voice, I'd give this one a "B". C

The music struck me as a bit odd, but overall, I liked this one. The way the focus sort of jumped around on the "are you sure you want to delete these items" message box was a bit distracting, but when the tagline "what's next?" came up, I found myself agreeing with it. This one could be effective for people who are still undecided. I also like that it touches on a number of the many reasons why Bush is bad for America. B+

The cuts to soldier's benefits and pay is an excellent topic, and I liked the the "If we can support our troops, why can't Bush" line a great deal. The narrator's voice, though, was somewhat distracting, and the final image of a flag-draped coffin and the question "or is this what they mean by an 'Army of One'" seemed a bit puzzling to me. I'm not quite sure how that fits in the context of the rest of the ad. But it's not a bad effort, and with a bit of work, could probably be quite good. C

This one goes for a play on the MasterCard "priceless" ads, and mostly succeeds. It doesn't seem to have the same kind of "grabbing" resonance that some of the others have had, and it may just be that the "priceless" thing has been overdone enough that it's losing it's punch. C

Another favourite. The "stealing from the poor to give to the rich" message is made without it actually having to be said, and there's almost a bit of a humorous feel to the whole ad which makes it more interesting. The music sets the perfect tone. Well done. A

Like "Child's Pay", this one uses the image of children to make a point about the size of the deficit - but this one also ties in the fact that those who are already rich are the ones benefiting from the tax cuts that are creating the deficit. The kids emptying out their piggy banks and taking money up to the billionaire at the teachers desk is a memorable image, as is the guy holding up his money and saying "thanks kids." A

Very well made point about how Bush so often says one thing and then does another. The imagery is good, also. I like the metaphor of taking a car in for repairs and having the tech beating it up and breaking parts on it to illustrate what Bush as done for the country. The narrator's voice on this one was a bit distracting also, but the message was strong enough to keep my interest. B+

Not a bad effort, but something just doesn't quit hang right. I know they're trying to simulate an odometer and speedometer, but when the narrator says "three point three million" and the number on the screen is 3300000 there's a momentary disconnect while my brain visualizes the decimal point so that they match, and it broke my focus for the next point. B-