September 06, 2006

Doyle-Green Campaign Ad Wars

Rep. Mark Green is getting some good earned (free) media for his radio ad that plays off an old Budweiser commercial:

Gov. Doyle already has an ad blasting Green for his "illegal" campaign money, illegal only because Doyle flacks on the Elections Board retroactively declared some of Green's money illegal. Well, he took some video from a Madison television station. The out-of-context manner the Doyle campaign used the video ticked off the station:

The clip involving NBC 15 is taken out of context, because attribution used in the story was removed.

We want to make it clear, NBC 15 objects to the use of its newscast in the Doyle ad.

However, after contacting our attorney, we have determined that, because of fair use laws, we have no legal recourse to prevent the clip from our newscast from being used in the ad.

Green is going down the Russ Feingold path of cute, funny, memorable commercials that get caught in your head and force you to talk about them at the water cooler. Doyle is airing traditional campaign commercials that bash the opponent with news media quotes and clips. For now this gives Green the advantage. He still has to introduce himself to voters outside Green Bay and the Fox River Valley. He needs a good hook. However, he can't just be known as the candidate with the funny commercials. Voters want to elect a man who will be serious when in office (and I don't mean seriously paying off his campaign contributors). With his first commercials Green is setting the hook. Eventually he'll have to reel the voters in with more substance.