As I’ve noted here before, I normally don’t get into politics. The reason being, that logic seems to have little place in what passes for political discourse these days, especially in that cesspool of hyper-opinionated conversation we call social media. It sort of looks like an elementary school playground to me.
“You’re wrong!”
“No, you’re wrong!”
“Nu-uh!”
“Uh-huh!”
“You’re not my friend anymore!”
Yup, looks about right. Or, rather, about wrong.
But lately, I’ve run into something that’s got me pretty worked up. And, perhaps surprisingly, it’s got nothing to do with party doctrine or ideology. It’s the advertising, which apparently can’t start soon enough (it’s only February, in case the weather didn’t tip you off). Specifically, I’m irritated by online advertising.
See, like hundreds of millions of other people, I like to spend time on YouTube. A lot of time, actually. And for the past two weeks, every time I load a video, I’ve been barraged by the same political ad, seemingly programmed to bother Arkansas users. I won’t say who it’s for, because I imagine he won’t be the only one advertising like this before it’s all over, but I will note that it’s one of those ads that you can’t skip. There’s a feedback tool that asks if I want to see ads like this in the future. I click “no” every time and promptly get the ad the very next time I click on a new video.
That’s irksome. So much so, in fact, it’s probably the very best way to ensure I’m going to vote for anybody but that candidate. Of course, I realize this looks pretty shallow, to cast away the fundamental, sacred right granted to me by this republic, the very manifestation of the consent of the governed, for the pretty trivial reason that I’m annoyed by the campaign’s marketing strategy. But hear me out, because I think that strategy says a lot.
Note that I used the word “republic” and not “democracy” up above. That’s what we have here. We vote for people to represent us in government. Think government is too big? Vote for someone who agrees with you. Think marriage should be a universal right any two loving, consenting adults should have? Find a candidate who reckons likewise.
The person who opted for the ad placement I described here — or who hired the misguided folks who thought it was a good idea — does not represent me. And I’d venture to say he doesn’t represent anyone who came of age with or after the Internet.
We, these people, don’t think of YouTube or the Internet in general as just another TV channel, another place to be overwhelmed by the incessant drone of a consumption culture gone wild. No, we understand it, and YouTube specifically, as a reflection of ourselves in what we watch or even upload — as the name implies.
The purveyors of this ad — the same ad that airs on TV and radio, I would note — clearly don’t understand this at all. They see it as just another buy, another opportunity to “message.” What’s worse, like most political spiels these days, it has no substance. It’s all B-roll picket fences and waving flags and “Don’t you just hate Washington these days?” — all of which tells me nothing. At the very least, mention where you stand on things like fiscal policy or social issues. I’ll probably still vote against you though.
Better still would be to show some thinking outside the box entirely. Show me that you at least understand the medium. Don’t give me 30 seconds of sap; give me 30 seconds of a cat nonchalantly riding on a Roomba like it’s nothing.
Then fade to black and slowly have three lines appear, one after the other:
“Washington sucks. Vote for [candidate’s name]. He’ll stand firm.”
That’s an ad that understands YouTube. That’s an ad that understands the Internet. That’s an ad made by someone who understands at least some small part of me.
In other words, that’s someone I might vote for, despite his poor marketing choices.