Sometimes a “Feel-Good” Ad is Not Good Enough
Crude oil has been gushing from a faulty wellhead into the Gulf of Mexico for over 70 days now, and a viable solution to the problem has yet to be introduced. BP’s CEO, Tony Hayward, has been receiving immense criticism left and right for his actions since the spill, or lack thereof. In an effort to appease the understandably angry masses, BP launched an “apology” ad campaign. While the campaign is a nice gesture, it provides little assurance to viewers that an end is in sight.
In the beginning of the ad, Hayward’s voice is heard as a photograph of the oil in the ocean is shown. He says, “The Gulf spill is a tragedy that never should have happened.” He goes on to introduce himself and admit that BP takes responsibility for the disaster. The ad primarily focuses on clean up efforts and volunteerism, with a series of photos displaying the clean up. Hayward directly apologizes to the viewer and closes with, “We will get this done. We will make this right.” The ad is effective in that it conveys a feel-good sentiment to the viewer. The creators were also smart to include a Louisiana native employee in a second apology ad to send out the apologetic message, which translated as sincere, as opposed to a distant British board member apologizing, who is most likely not personally affected by the disaster.
What’s missing, however, is any mention of a plan to move forward with actually stopping the oil from spewing into the ocean. Currently, it is estimated that if the wellhead is removed and not capped, up to 100,000 barrels of oil could leak into the ocean every day. What is needed is a plan of action, not just pledges to clean up the mess.
It has been reported that BP spent $50 million for the advertising campaign, another number that has angered many people who believe that money should be spent on relief efforts. These ads also aired almost two months after the spill started – quite late for an apology. The ads probably would have stemmed criticism of BP if they had been released in a timelier manner.
All in all, the most important element of the “apology” is missing: a plan of action, which does little to comfort those who are being directly affected by the spill. Jobs are being lost, animals are dying, and the environment is deteriorating; all of this could continue for at least two years if that wellhead is not capped.
It’s all well and good that Hayward comes on the television and says he’s sorry, but that does not change the reality that tens of thousands of barrels (millions of gallons) of crude oil are going into the ocean twenty-four hours a day, and have been for the past 70 days. People are starting to ask questions, and this vapid attempt by BP to assure people that the mess will get cleaned up is undercutting and underestimating the intelligence of the American people. We want to know what BP is actively doing to stop this spill, not simply that waste is being collected as it washes up on our shores.
BP needs move forward in devising a plan that will stop this disaster, rather than spending tens of millions of dollars on advertisements in attempts to reconcile the backlash and hostility it’s receiving. Apologies, whether sincere or not, will not fix the situation. BP needs to stop putting out ads saying they are sorry and run something that tells the American people what they are doing and what they plan to do to stop this crisis.
Tea Party Candidates and Women: Victorious in the Primaries but Face Challenges Ahead
In the recent slew of primary elections that took place throughout the country, two groups particularly stood out as victors in the races: women and Tea Party candidates.
Several women won high profile primary races, including Carly Fiorina for California Senate, Meg Whitman for California governor, Sharron Angle for Nevada Senate, and Nikki Haley for South Carolina governor. Americans are fed up with the status quo and are selecting candidates who can offer the American people something new, something fresh. Women are a minority and the Tea Party movement represents something radically different from the current administration’s game plan. Perhaps these wins are representing the need for change from Obama’s “change.” It remains to be seen whether or not these candidates will be as viable in the fall.
In Nevada, Sharron Angle, the Tea Party-backed candidate, was victorious over the more established and once-ahead candidate Sue Lowden. Angle will face Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. It has been reported that Democrats, who were once fearful of Reid’s ability to win in November due to nationwide frustration with the direction in which he has led the Senate, are relieved that Angle won because of her conservative views. Angle has a lot of great ideas in terms of taxes, our involvement with the UN, and Social Security. However, some of her other ideas, like bringing back prohibition will be an easy target for Reid’s camp when it comes to attack advertisements. Her association with the Tea Party’s negative image perpetuated by the mainstream media could have detrimental effects on her performance in the general election.
As the election slowly inches closer, advertising for all of the candidates will become more heated and competitive. It is certain that the gender of the candidates will not be attacked in these advertisements, insofar as that would certainly be the kiss of death for the perpetrator. However, many of the women won because they chose to tact very far to the right in order to win their primaries in swing states. It will be difficult for them to tact back to the center when it comes to the general election.
It is likely that the Democrats will also target the Tea Party movement in an effort to distort the Republican record. One characteristic of the Tea Party movement is that it is a very loose conglomeration of local groups without a central control mechanism, and therefore if a Tea Partier shows up to a rally with a sign displaying Nazi symbols, it is difficult for the group as a whole to fend off those types of negative associations. Democrats will likely blanket those associations across the entire Republican party.
The “anti-Tea Party” mantra will become one of the focal centerpieces to the liberal advertisements that will surface as the election draws nearer. Will it work? It could have a negative effect on Republicans running, even if they are not associated with the Tea Party. It will be up to those candidates to remind Americans of the harrowing situation the Obama administration has placed our nation in and to show Americans that the few extreme stereotypes associated with the Tea Party do not represent them, nor a majority of the movement’s members.
In the 2008 presidential election America put the first African American into the White House – a truly remarkable and historical event. This election cycle, we have the opportunity to put more women and more candidates that represent the grassroots in office – an equally exciting prospect. Time will tell as the elections move closer whether or not America will embrace that opportunity once again.
*Photo Credit: Magana/AP
Changing Media Changing Attention Spans
A question came up the other day with a friend of mine who asked me “who writes letters anymore?” Thinking about it with the exception of Christmas cards and a few notes on birthdays I realized that I in fact don’t. It’s not just that I do not write letters, it’s my attention span, like countless others, is unwilling if not incapable of sitting down and writing a concrete thought on a piece of paper.
The New York Times recently wrote a terrific, if not horrifying profile on the affects of technology on humans. It concluded that our brains were not built to multitask, in fact, just 3 percent of the population is. According to the Times, those folks are deemed “supertaskers.” As a result, our society has been changed in ways we never could have imagined. A 2008 study found that people consumed about “three times as much information each day as they did in 1960.” And that “computer users at work change windows or check e-mail or other programs nearly 37 times an hour, new research shows.”
This information, while shocking, isn’t completely surprising.
Think about it: e-mail, cell phones, iPads, MP3 players and yes the Internet have all contributed to a society that is transfixed on the need and want of being busy. People more so than ever crave information and the “dopamine squirt” resulting from the new information coming at your fingertips can be addictive.
Understanding people’s attention spans can be helpful for how political and communications consultants communicate to our audience, the voters.
Jon Henke, a Partner here at CRAFT wrote back in March “we read differently online. The mental cost imposed by marketing language is just too high” and that “online communication has to be fast, personal and authentic.” Point is, whether it’s online communications or direct mail and TV unless you are targeting your message and doing it in a way that reaches people quickly and in a catchy way you’re losing.
Political consultants have to always be thinking about engaging voters in a way that is conscious of their attention spans, or lack there of. Doing so means being fast, engaging and edgy if need be. Here at CRAFT we’ve created dynamic advertising content. These ads catch viewer’s attention by tying the ad directly to the viewer and reminding them how it affects them. This is how you keep your audiences attention not by using cheap gimmicks.
The challenge going forward is finding new and creative solutions for connecting with an increasingly attention deficit audience. And with greater media platforms arriving day by day expect the audience to be even harder to engage. Point is this: if you blink you may just be missing the next big thing.
Media’s New Kids on the Block
Justin Germany was interviewed with three other next-generation media consultants for Campaigns & Elections magazine:
C&E: How much of a struggle is it within the campaign structures that you guys work with in trying to get the resources that you guys want for online?
JG: My firm is kind of interesting in that we have a lot of these silos all together. So we have some clients where we’re doing the mail, or doing the TV, or we’re doing mail, TV, and the online component. So it becomes a lot easier internally to realize what’s working, wherever we need to allocate budget. But you still have to go back and make those arguments to the campaign about, “Hey, you really do need the money to go toward your online advertising effort.”
CRAFT’s 50 Political Journalists To Follow On Twitter
Two weeks ago, CRAFT brought you our much talked about list of 50 Bloggers To Follow On Twitter. Now, we have compiled a list of the 50 Political Journalists we recommend our clients follow. For those who use Twitter, it serves as a constant source of news and information. These political journalists contribute to that in both traditional and new media channels.
Follow the Twitter list here: @CRAFTdc/craft-s-50-journalists.
(In no particular order.)
- Jonathan Martin (POLITICO), @jmartpolitico
- Karen Travers (ABC News), @karentravers
- Fred Barnes (Weekly Standard), @fredbarnes
- Ben Smith (POLITICO), @benpolitico
- Josh Kraushaar (POLITICO), @politicojosh
- Mike Allen (POLITICO), @mikeallen
- Shira Toeplitz (POLITICO), @ShiraToeplitz
- Patrick Gavin (POLITICO), @pwgavin
- Chris Cillizza (Washington Post), @thefix
- Jamie Dupree (Cox Radio), @jamiedupree
- Marc Ambinder (The Atlantic Monthly), @marcambinder
- Taegan Goddard (Political Wire), @pwire
- Mark Knoller (CBS News), @markknoller
- Rick Klein (ABC News), @thenote
- Chuck Todd (NBC News), @chucktodd
- Jon Karl (ABC News), @jonkarl
- Major Garrett (FOX News), @majoratwh
- Rick Leventhal (FOX News), @RickLeventhal
- Mark Preston (CNN), @PrestonCNN
- Sam Feist (CNN), @SamFeistCNN
- Candy Crowley (CNN), @CrowleyCNN
- Andrea Mitchell (NBC News), @MitchellReports
- John McCardle (Roll Call), @McCardleRollCall
- Jake Tapper (ABC News), @jaketapper
- Joe Scarborough (NBC News), @JoeNBC
- Glenn Thrush (POLITICO), @GlennThrush
- Luke Russert (XM Radio/NBC News), @RussertXM_NBC
- David Gregory (NBC News), @DavidGregory
- Martin Kady (POLITICO), @MKady
- Karen Tumulty (Washington Post), @ktumulty
- Ana Marie Cox (GQ Magazine), @AnaMarieCox
- Josh Marshall (Talking Points Memo), @JoshTPM
- George Stephanopoulos (ABC News), @GStephanopoulos
- Dana Bash (CNN), @DanaBashCNN
- Byron York (Washington Examiner), @ByronYork
- Jim Martin (CNET), @JamesCO
- Eric Kuhn (CNN), @KuhnCNN
- Aaron Blake (Washington Post), @FixAaron
- David Drucker (Roll Call), @DavidMDrucker
- Peter Hamby (CNN), @hambypCNN
- Erin McPike (National Journal), @ErinMcPike
- Reid Wilson (Politics Nation), @PoliticsNation
- David Weigel (Washington Post), @DaveWeigel
- Phil Elliott (Associated Press), @PElliottAP
- Salena Zito (Pittsburgh Tribune), @SalenaZito
- John McCormack (Weekly Standard), @McCormackJohn
- Terry Moran (ABC News), @TerryMoran
- Garance Franke-Ruta (Washington Post), @TheGarance
- Michael Calderone (Yahoo! News), @mlcalderone
- Olivier Knox (AFP), @OKnox
- Christina Bellatoni (Talking Points Memo), @cbellantoni
Brian Donahue on FOX News – 7/4/2010
Brian Donahue discusses the current political environment on FOX News.
Brian on Fox from CRAFT on Vimeo.
Times of Crisis Are No Time For Playing Games
In a post for PR News Online, self-described ‘GOP web 2.0 consultant’ David All suggests a strategy for BP to use games and foursquare badges to clean up its PR problems. I couldn’t disagree more.
There is a legitimate point to suggest that companies innovate, and invest in games to promote their brand, and even their issue advocacy goals. There is simply no way you can convince me that doing so during a crisis/disaster is a good idea.
David suggests a number of different approaches to his idea:
Now imagine a game — call it “Coastal Cleanup” — that connects people online for a good cause in their local communities offline. Volunteers could “check in” at locations via Foursquare and unlock badges for their volunteer efforts.
The last thing BP needs is a series of posts saying, “I earned the Greasy Spoon Badge for cleaning crude oil off of a pelican on FourSquare.” Can you imagine a parade of “Scrubbing muck off of waterfowl (@ BP’s eco-disaster)” tweets?
Worse yet, releasing a game called Coastal Cleanup while your oil leak is threatening animals and vegetation across hundreds of miles of beach doesn’t say, “we’re socially responsible” it says, “This whole thing is a game to us.”
It would be the equivalent of a game that let you take control of the Exxon Valdez and do slaloms with cartoon icebergs – it would be in incredibly poor taste.
About two years ago, Burger King released a Facebook app that asked you to sacrifice a friend for a whopper. Can you imagine them doing so after a mass shooting at a restaurant?
Games can be tremendously valuable and used effectively to tell your story. But playing games during a crisis tells the world you don’t take the situation seriously. It sends a message that playing around is more important than paying the price for your mistakes.
That’s not good crisis communications.
