Commentary
New Trump Campaign Ad: Making America Great Again, Again?
- by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, May 12, 2020
For the week of May 2 through May 8, Advertising Analytics says the commercial had 1,737 airings. The week before, the Trump campaign spent $1.8 million from April 26 through May 2.
A few quick questions: Where is that story written, who was the author, and did anyone do the fact-checking?
Pardon me -- this is advertising. That aside, the attempt is a promise that advertising can be aspirational. Pulitzer Prize potential? No.
It's a hodgepodge of clips from the press, starting off with an initial one-minute spot, where the words “attack,” “mocked” and “torn up,” appear. The latter features House Speaker’s Nancy Pelosi famously ripping up a Trump State of the Union speech.
Over Trump’s words: “No matter how hard they try to stop us...” we see a video snippet of Pelosi laughing. Military jets flying overhead. Warships cruising the oceans. The usual patriot stuff. Especially the laughing.
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And then a COVID-19 reference: “Together, we are beating back the invisible enemy,” which was followed by two positive sound bites from New York State Gov. Andrew Cuumo, and California State Gov. Gavin Newsom -- where we are reminded they are Democratic leaders of their respective states.
After this comes the requisite images of first responders, nurses and other key workers.
“With the grace of God, we will win this war, and we will win this war quickly.” Yes, and what about dismissing those early COVID-19 warnings? Or the lack of adequate testing or gear for those first responders?
But it is the last message from Trump that is the clincher, which might give many a double take of sorts: “.. and we will make America great again.”
Trump didn’t say whether this was a continuation of a promise made in 2016 -- or a new “greatness.”
Perhaps it refers to the "great’" period in January/February of this year -- before the virus? Maybe it’s about a comparison to the Ronald Reagan era, George W. Bush period, the 1950s, or possibly during the Obama Administration’s eight-year run. He didn’t elaborate.
Using the “making America great again” phrase is tricky. Even the most ardent of Trump supporters, may be thinking: “What? Didn’t we just do that?”
Either way, I’d call it a TV rerun. Bad news here, as many TV analysts will tell you. Reruns always produce lower viewing and call to action data -- same for re-airing a previously seen political campaign.
Wayne Friedman is West Coast Editor of MediaPost. You can reach Wayne at wayne@mediapost.com.
Because things haven't been "great" in your eyes, Wayne, does not mean that what Trump is putting out there will not help him win. If you are committed to commentary on advertising, you'd do well to focus on the advertising, and whether it will resonate, again. Leave your "on the sleeve" ideology out of it.
Make America Great resonated first time around, apparently, with polls showing Trump had no chance of winning, and yet, he won. With a base that loved Make America Great, and an opposing party that loved China, and Iran (for incomprehensible reasons, more unknown than coronavirus at the time). I couldn't bring myself to vote for him, but he won. Leave the fact that you hated that "late in the fourth quarter" win, and hate Trump out of your MediaPost commentary, please. It only helps Trump.
Cool, cerebral, nice guy Obama made us China's and Iran's bitches during his eight years, and Trump has since laid down the law regarding what we require from those nations before thay ever get treated so favorably from an economic standpoint again. Much needed re-sets, Trump got them done.
You rely on the tired canard "what about dismissing those early COVID-19 warnings" leaving out the part about Trump putting the early kybosh on air travel from China, and your pitiful candidate railing against that very smart EARLY decision withearly, ignorant charges of racism (good ol' Joe knows how to "love" China. He learned from the best). By the way, Trump was paying some attention to the left, and Fauci/Birx in those earliest days... all of whom were doing their level best to minimize, and tamp down fear, and hysteria in the early going. All the early examples of those experts, and Pelosi, and other Dem leaders minimizing, and appearing out of step because they had no idea what was coming (and still have no idea exactly what it is, across the board) don't suit your ideiologocal narrative, do they? So you bury them, and deceitfully, with pointed agenda ascribe them solely to Trump, so transparently, imagining your subterfuge is somehow undetectable, only helping Trump. Almost as if you believe that Independents like me, and moderates, and conservatives are unseeing dumbasses. It's a bit mind-boggling, really, this collective blindspot of the left.
As for your "Using the “making America great again” phrase is tricky?"
Why is that? You think that correcting all the ills that make America less great is a four year job? You think that all the muck-raking, and BS thrown against Trump in the last three and a half years haven't COMPLETELY eradicated his ability to get great things done? Look at infrastructure. Something needed, and the Dems have wanted for years (but were unable to make happen). Finally, a President that campaigned on making sure that infrastructure gets done, and DONE RIGHT, with the background and wherewithal to GET IT DONE RIGHT, who is ready to earmark the required funds, but then, WADDYA KNOW? The left is now against brand new roads, and bridges, and infrastructure for the good of all because they know Trump can get it done, and will get credit.
You just can't write this stuff, and you guys think that what's going on will be hidden under some rock by you guys repeating the same ol' BS, and raising the same ol' canards over and over again. It's not sticking to the wall you're throwing it up against, it's blowing back on you, and it stinks worse than Trump himself, as stinky as he can be. Surely you see, and know that by now. Are you guys out of ideas? Crawl out from under your rocks.
No, making a country that has been diminished as great as it can possibly be is more than a four year job, especially with the wind against you like it has been for Trump. Greatness requires concerted effort, and extended time. Always has, and always will.
I find your apple to orange comparison of Trump's slogan to a TV re-run to be ironic, and funny. Primarily, because my daughter who is doing college at home and studying Marketing was researching great advertising slogans throughout history just yesterday. Some of those great, and iconic slogans were changed mid-stream until the companies realized they'd made a mistake, and reverted back to their "tried, true, and STILL WORKING."
Others kept their slogans intact for decades on end, so iconic had they become. And also because consumer "election" and "re-election" of that company's products with every purchase continued to be strong, and grow.
Also faulty about your "apple and orange" comparison. There are reruns that I will watch again, and again. Especially Seinfeld. I'm not sure whether the fact (if it's a fact at all) that Seinfeld, for example, got more eyeballs on NBC back in the 90's than it does today in syndication is even relevant. You claim that "reruns always produce lower viewing," and support your claim with what "many TV analysts will tell me." How many is many? Will all TV analysts tell me that, or will some of them tell me that with syndication, and streaming, and a more global economy, that Seinfeld airings get more millions of eyeballs today than when it initially aired? When it wasn't a "rerun."
Again, not sure it's relevant, other than as a demonstration of how fast and loose "writers" on the left get with words to make ideological points, and tear something, or somebody down for not fitting in with their pre-ordained beliefs, and ideology. The viciousness with which the left engaged in that helped in 2016 helped elect Trump, and the doubling down today will help re-elect him in November. What you're throwing at Trump to see if it'll stick is going to leave Biden hanging in fierce winds.
More importantly, your greater fault is in the fact that TV commercials are designed to be repetitive. As somebody that sold advertising in the 80's and 90's, the word FREQUENCY is forever ingrained in my brain. You know how that works, the more frequently a message is delivered, and driven home, the better. The accrual of those short messages is where the rubber meets the road... not so much with a half hour, or one hour long episode of a TV show.
In many ways, the endless lies, and denigration against Trump does make this yet another "comeback" story for Trump. The collusion with Russia BS, the impeachment over Ukraine BS. The endless battles that Trump has been forced to fight (instead of being allowed to following through on more of his promises, like infrastructure) makes this "comeback" story ongoing, and real.
We are not great yet, and the left has done its damnedest to make sure of that. They will pay for that in 2020, and well beyond unless things drastically change. This, from a guy that voted Clinton in '92, and Obama in '08... I will never vote DEM again without significant change, and that required change AIN'T what's hanging in the wings with people like Occasional-Cortex.
To paraphrase the POTUS tweets ... "Sad."