The Brookings Lowe’s Project Election:
Awards and Predictions
I’ve been following this election since it started, simply because it’s an election, and I’m nosey and opinionated. In my newly adopted hometown, the place of my hazy and questionable collegiate career, there’s a big thing to do over the City Commission offering major incentives – as in millions – to entice their new girlfriend to come over to their dorm room… er, town.
This measure has been fought mainly in the daily newspaper but otherwise, I haven’t noted much evidence of it. One of my neighbors who wrote a letter on it has one of the two yard signs I’ve seen in town in his yard.
Otherwise, as outsiders who are new to town, let’s pick apart the election a little on the basis of what the various parties have been able to communicate to this uninformed voter over the course of the election.
The “I need to take a course in graphic arts award” colloquially known as the “Fugly” goes to: The Citizens Against Retail Subsidies. They’ve been opposing it strongly, but ‘damn’. They have had the ugliest advertising I’ve ever seen. Inconsistent messages. Just plain ugly and unappealing advertising. Whomever they put in charge of the advertising needs to be taken out and shot, right now. Stop them now before they design another ad.
The “Spending Money Like a Drunken Sailor” award goes to: the Lowe’s Brookings Referendum Committee. Nothing like a week or more of full page full color ads to make the local newspaper’s day. Although, in Yesterday’s ad, they did drop the full color.
To their credit, the same committee deserves the “Best Ad Nomination” for the full page ad with the picture of the gal with her hand over her heart. Truly, it was a really good ad.
The award for “taking the opponent’s message and sticking up their keester” is a tie – with appropriate kudos going to Kevin Ohm and another businessman for their ads mocking the Lowe’s ad of the gal doing the pledge. They’re short, succinct, and relatively inexpensive compared to the ad they are stealing the thunder from. Both are worthy of best ad nominations.
If you can hijack your opponent’s message and use it to your benefit – that’s a good trick in politics. Sometimes those who’ve been around the block have a hard time with it. Here, these guys did it quickly and to great effect.
The Shouldn’t have bothered ad award – Lowe’s Brookings Referendum Committee for the 240,000,000 Reasons Ad. Just looking at it – yuck. Joe Six Pack who votes has no idea what the South Dakota Economic Buying Index is. It’s not simple enough for those who are taking the 20 seconds to look at it, and it lacks information for those who want to go further. For someone spending as much as they are on ads, how about a website?
The community organization award – Hands down, The Citizens Against Retail Subsidies. They’ve had a newspaper letter writing campaign second to none. Big Thumbs up! And while there should be a law against them designing newspaper advertising, they did a nice job on their website, and have been johnny-on-the-spot with information for those who want more information. In fact, they’ve been about the only source. And if you’re the only source of data for curious voters, guess which way the election is going to be slanted.
The “Needs to learn a valuable lesson from all of this” award. - Lowe’s Brookings Referendum Committee. Noting their address and treasurer located at 431 N. Phillips Avenue, Suite 400 in Sioux Falls? That’s sheer stupidity. For what they were spending, they couldn’t afford a Brookings P.O. Box?
This election is still coming down to the wire in a hot and heavy fashion. I'm told in tonight's paper, it's loaded with Vote Yes letters, although the question will be "is it too little, too late?" I'm also told there are rumors swirling that a major employer is giving employees an extra half hour of paid lunchtime for lunch for the purpose of voting.
My prediction? At this point, it might be considered too close to call. It's tough on these issues, because you really need to have a motivated electorate. I think that this election will have bad to mediocre voter turnout. If I was going to go out on a limb, if the vote were held today, I'd give it to the citizens against retail subsidies, but we still have a weekend to go - so it can change at a moment's notice.
Oh, and best ad? I'm going to award that to:
It wasn't nearly as pretty or expensive as the Lowe's ad, but it made me laugh - and in politics, it's nice to see that humor still counts for something.
Speaking of humor, I do have a copy of the infamous Sattgast goose ad running around somewhere. This next week, I'll digitize it and post it as a good example on how to make an ad memorable with humor.
This measure has been fought mainly in the daily newspaper but otherwise, I haven’t noted much evidence of it. One of my neighbors who wrote a letter on it has one of the two yard signs I’ve seen in town in his yard.
Otherwise, as outsiders who are new to town, let’s pick apart the election a little on the basis of what the various parties have been able to communicate to this uninformed voter over the course of the election.
The “I need to take a course in graphic arts award” colloquially known as the “Fugly” goes to: The Citizens Against Retail Subsidies. They’ve been opposing it strongly, but ‘damn’. They have had the ugliest advertising I’ve ever seen. Inconsistent messages. Just plain ugly and unappealing advertising. Whomever they put in charge of the advertising needs to be taken out and shot, right now. Stop them now before they design another ad.
The “Spending Money Like a Drunken Sailor” award goes to: the Lowe’s Brookings Referendum Committee. Nothing like a week or more of full page full color ads to make the local newspaper’s day. Although, in Yesterday’s ad, they did drop the full color.
To their credit, the same committee deserves the “Best Ad Nomination” for the full page ad with the picture of the gal with her hand over her heart. Truly, it was a really good ad.
The award for “taking the opponent’s message and sticking up their keester” is a tie – with appropriate kudos going to Kevin Ohm and another businessman for their ads mocking the Lowe’s ad of the gal doing the pledge. They’re short, succinct, and relatively inexpensive compared to the ad they are stealing the thunder from. Both are worthy of best ad nominations.
If you can hijack your opponent’s message and use it to your benefit – that’s a good trick in politics. Sometimes those who’ve been around the block have a hard time with it. Here, these guys did it quickly and to great effect.
The Shouldn’t have bothered ad award – Lowe’s Brookings Referendum Committee for the 240,000,000 Reasons Ad. Just looking at it – yuck. Joe Six Pack who votes has no idea what the South Dakota Economic Buying Index is. It’s not simple enough for those who are taking the 20 seconds to look at it, and it lacks information for those who want to go further. For someone spending as much as they are on ads, how about a website?
The community organization award – Hands down, The Citizens Against Retail Subsidies. They’ve had a newspaper letter writing campaign second to none. Big Thumbs up! And while there should be a law against them designing newspaper advertising, they did a nice job on their website, and have been johnny-on-the-spot with information for those who want more information. In fact, they’ve been about the only source. And if you’re the only source of data for curious voters, guess which way the election is going to be slanted.
The “Needs to learn a valuable lesson from all of this” award. - Lowe’s Brookings Referendum Committee. Noting their address and treasurer located at 431 N. Phillips Avenue, Suite 400 in Sioux Falls? That’s sheer stupidity. For what they were spending, they couldn’t afford a Brookings P.O. Box?
This election is still coming down to the wire in a hot and heavy fashion. I'm told in tonight's paper, it's loaded with Vote Yes letters, although the question will be "is it too little, too late?" I'm also told there are rumors swirling that a major employer is giving employees an extra half hour of paid lunchtime for lunch for the purpose of voting.
My prediction? At this point, it might be considered too close to call. It's tough on these issues, because you really need to have a motivated electorate. I think that this election will have bad to mediocre voter turnout. If I was going to go out on a limb, if the vote were held today, I'd give it to the citizens against retail subsidies, but we still have a weekend to go - so it can change at a moment's notice.
Oh, and best ad? I'm going to award that to:
It wasn't nearly as pretty or expensive as the Lowe's ad, but it made me laugh - and in politics, it's nice to see that humor still counts for something.Speaking of humor, I do have a copy of the infamous Sattgast goose ad running around somewhere. This next week, I'll digitize it and post it as a good example on how to make an ad memorable with humor.
Comments
In other words, they've sissified it. It's practically a fern barn now.
*sigh* I need a schooner.
I used to think B town was a pretty affordable place to live, but things there are not any better than Sioux Falls. Even rent. Not impressive anymore.