It’s an even-numbered year and the foliage is starting to turn, which means the dirty politics season has officially started.
An ugly radio spot ran briefly last week on stations in Missouri and Kansas. In an effort to drive a wedge between Democrats and a traditional support bloc, the ad characterizes Social Security as "reverse reparations." According to the ad, African Americans, who have shorter life spans than whites, put more into the system than they get out of it.
"So the next time some Democrat says he won’t touch Social Security, ask why he thinks blacks owe reparations to whites," the ad says, according to published accounts.
The ad was sponsored by GOPAC, an independent entity that provides campaign training, grassroots organization and issue advocacy for Republicans on the state and local levels. According to wire accounts, a GOPAC spokesman said that the organization never intended for the ad to run. The organization immediately disavowed it and pulled it.
While the ad may have been pulled, it has doubtless left an impression on those who heard it. This needs to be addressed.
The taste and morality of the ad aside, the ad was the exact opposite of what the direct response industry is all about. It’s a call to inaction.
It would behoove anyone attempting to repair the ad’s damage – Republican, Democratic, or independent -- to explore using a direct response ad. The ad would include a voter registration drive or a toll-free information number. And this ad would run on exactly the stations that carried the "reparations" ad.
The difference would be that the new ad would carry an opportunity for voters to become involved with the political process, rather than be alienated from it.
To respond to the opinions in this column, please contact rlevey@primediabusiness.com
