It’s cheap and it’s wrong. Kids should be selling cookies, not pushing the agenda of special interest groups like AARP or politicians like Governor Spitzer. When you can’t you sell your position without resorting to using them, you take the easy way out.Tags: Governor Spitzer, AARP
4 comments:
On the one hand, the typical political ad uses plenty of tactics that could be deemed disgusting. On the other hand, using kids to get attention is a tried-and-true-albeit-contrived tactic that advertisers have used forever — from Oscar Mayer to Goodrich (or is it Goodyear?) Tires. So it’s only to be expected that political ads would ultimately go there too.
They're talking about issues that will affect these kids as adults. It's not gratuitous, so at least it makes sense creatively. No?
Well, adding to the earlier comment, there used to be an old advertising line that went something like: “If you’ve got little to say, sing it. If you’ve got nothing to say, have a kid sing it.” The point is, kids (like puppies) are an instant, contrived way to get attention. Sure, there are times when their usage is certainly relevant. But in the case of this political ad, they are being used in a sleazy fashion. After all, does anyone believe for a second that the depicted kids even understand the lines they’re reading?
But cf, I understand the implication this issue has on their future, it just feels wrong to have a kid speaking like an adult. I’d rather have a politician come on and say “Hey, selfish a-hole, you better change or else.”
And when AARP does it, I can’t help but think it’s their agenda they worry about–not kids.
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