Mad Speak

Who knew? Hugh Hewitt has a "favorite" ad exec, a poor blighter whose command of the English language has been weakened by yrs. in the ad game.

The GOP, by and large, hires communications people and "marketers" from within the political marketing vertical. This is a recipe for bad creative.

Careful; it might be a recipe for bad clams or worse mayonnaise. The pathetic, almost human mewling you are about to hear is the English language being taught a lesson:

Working completely in a vertical -- any vertical -- takes those who are making the communication too close to the product. When that happens, they create things that talk only about the product, in the language of the product. They forget the audience completely. It happens in b2b, it happens in healthcare, and it happens to the GOP. Preaching to the choir.

We have a vague idea of what he meant there. But HHFAE is forgetting one thing. Their product itself is rancid. Far beyond its sell-by date. And it's not a one-off, that can be bailed out of. The product (or its moldy, fungal descendants) will be living in the consumer's refrigerator for some time, probably warning the consumer that there's a terrorist right underneath the refrigerator, right now! every time Joe Six-Pack opens the door to see if that little light will come on again.

Truth is, Hollywood and Madison Ave are just two sides of the same coin -- we in advertising are just more overt about using creativity to sell products. Hollywood does the same, really, although it's intentionally and craftily presented as entertainment for entertainment's sake.

Yep, there's: A) No creativity in Hollywood; B) A Vast & Hidden Conspiracy to sell us something by Hollywood; C) Entertainment for entertainment's sake? I think that is central to my point. It couldn't possibly be that simple. It's certainly not very entertaining. What are they selling us? It's awfully hard to tell, as everyone at Breitbart's Big Ho can give you a list of film, telebision & music product that is obviously, undeniably conservative, damn it! You can then find a less doctrinaire reviewer w/ a vastly different take on the product. And often the creators of the product deny any conservative intent. Hollywood, believe it or shove it, just wants to sell admissions or recordings or downloads. The World wants an hour or three to itself, amusement & escape from assholes telling them how to live & behave. That's why the obvious & heavy handed are avoided in the real-world of profit & loss. (The Hollywood definition of profit & loss can be flexible, but there is a larger corporate bottom line to meet.) And that's probably why so few of these creative conservatives will succeed in the Big Ho of Reality. That yes/no, good/evil thing doesn't work too well in that global marketplace. And there are plenty of preachers on the tube for those who want to be preached at. Hey, maybe TBN is hiring?