Obama infomercial at least a ratings success

The Obama campaign turned into an “As Seen on TV” product and marketed his candidacy in an unprecedented 30-minute infomercial on three of the four major TV networks last night. The campaign bought up 30 minutes of airtime on CBS, FOX and NBC in order to run what amounts to a 30-minute campaign ad touting Obama’s proposals and throwing in a live clip of him at a Florida event.

The overblown TV ad is called “American Stories, American Solutions” and will certainly go down as the longest major political ad of any presidential election.  The full video is below…

Was the lengthy - and pricey - ad worth the effort for Obama? Mindless media and online chatter postulates that perhaps the sheer size and delivery of the ad - buying up half-an-hour of primetime on network TV - merely added to criticism that Obama is too presumptuous and is carrying on the old adage of “measuring the White House drapes.” The conservative and McCain-Palin buzz is that the Obama ad is “overkill” and flaunts his “broken promise” to join McCain in accepting public financing. Primetime is apparently no place for prospective presidents…

Realistically, Obama probably added to the overall perception that he is a juggernaut in this race and that his money and his momentum are carrying him to heights never before reached in presidential campaigns. These displays of muscle and force are  more than another way to tweak angry conservatives and an increasingly desperate McCain; they can help create a final image among voters that Obama is easily winning the race and that he is essentially already presidential, fomenting a sense of comfort and even resignation that Obama can and will handle the job.

If it costs 30 minutes of expensive network air to acheive last-minute campaign goals, so be it. His campaign won’t exactly be pinching pennies because of it…

The ad was a smashing success if the effectiveness is judged by the amount of eyeballs tuning in on Wednesday night.  The final tally is that over 33 million viewers watched Obama’s 30-minute infomercial on the multiple broadcast and cable networks where it aired.

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