Tuesday, April 27, 2021

GOOD AD. IT WON'T WORK.

HuffPost's Igor Bobic is right -- this pro-vaccine ad, made by Republican members of Congress who are also doctors or otherwise affiliated with the medical profession, is pretty good:


There's just one problem: It won't work.

Bobic writes:
The video, organized by the 18-member GOP “Doctors’ Caucus,” stresses the safety of COVID-19 vaccines and the U.S. government’s “rigorous and transparent” process of overseeing their development.

“The FDA did not skip any steps,” Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), an anesthesiologist and caucus co-chair, assures about COVID-19 vaccines in the ad.

“The only way to protect ourselves and your loved ones ― and to end the government’s restrictions on our freedoms ― is to take action and get the vaccine,” Rep. Greg Murphy (N.C.) added in the video, tailoring his pitch specifically to conservatives who opposed coronavirus lockdowns and other public health measures amid the pandemic.
But the people these members of Congress are trying to reach don't believe that restrictions will ever be lifted as long as Democrats (and Republicans they consider RINOs, like Ohio governor Mike DeWine) are in charge in many of the states and in Washington. They think the virus is just an excuse for Democrats (primarily) to exercise more and more control over people's lives because that's what Democrats like to do. They assume Democrats will just find one excuse after another to keep the restrictions in place forever.

Also, I'm sure the last few lines of the ad will make no sense to Republican vaccine refusers:
I look forward to the freedom that I along with my loved ones will regain once the vast majority of Americans are vaccinated.

If everyone does their part, in the coming weeks we will once again be able to worship together as a congregation, gather with extended family, and travel near and far with friends.

... I hope you'll join me, along with over a hundred million Americans, in choosing to receive the vaccine so we can throw away our masks and live life as free as we did before.
The vaccine refusers don't understand why everyone can't just do all that now. They think the risks of infection are wildly overrated unless you're very sick or very old. For everyone else, they think getting sick is no worse than getting the flu. To the maximum extent possible, they're already living as if the virus is harmless -- and because they tend to live outside large population centers, many of them have been lucky to avoid consequences, at least for now. So they have no intention of changing their behavior.

This is a nice effort -- but it's guaranteed to fail.

No comments:

Post a Comment