And they're ... meh.
Well, okay, this one is fine, even the ground it covers seems awfully familiar by now:
Donald Trump’s priorities? They’re dangerous. And we’re ready to take him on with our latest ads. →https://t.co/R6x4ztmm1j
— Priorities USA (@prioritiesUSA) May 17, 2016
On Maddow's show, Guy Cecil of Priorities USA said it was a misconception that everyone knows Trump and knows all the terrible things politics junkies know about him. According to focus groups, he says, a lot of people who are familiar with Trump's name don't know a lot about him. I guess I can believe that. Many people tune out political news or just don't have time for it. So maybe this ad will be an introduction to Trump for these voters. If so, it's not bad.
But I'm not sure about this one:
We’re launching ads this week in OH, VA, FL, & NV. First look (& share!) here:https://t.co/frMVrR13Dw
— Priorities USA (@prioritiesUSA) May 17, 2016
It's jarring, as it's meant to be. But I find it creepy to watch these ordinary people (who are meant to be us) lip-syncing Trump's words as if they mean them. It's true that they don't seem to be luxuriating in contempt for women the way Trump does, but they don't seem repulsed by the words either. It's especially unsettling when the man with the young girl repeats Trump's leering words about his own daughter. I want him to squirm as he mouths those words, and he doesn't.
What I want is something like this ad, made a while back by a right-wing anti-Trump super PAC (it didn't work, obviously, but that's because it was aimed at Republican voters, who think sexism is beneficial because it's "politically incorrect"):
Also compare the lip-sync ad to this clip, in which men read harassing tweets sent to female sports reporters, and eventually recoil from what they're reading:
The Priorities USA lip-sync ad never gets to that point. So I just don't think it works. But maybe I'm wrong about it and it'll strike a nerve.
Here's an ad idea I'm throwing out for free: How about adult women (and men) watching as Trump's words are lip-synced by children watching them on TV, especially boys? Would that be unsettling? Would that scare people about the likely state of the country during a Trump presidency?
