August 24th, 2007 @ 12:13 pm by evmonk

A couple weeks ago, Dennis sent “A Call Out to Producers” on YouTube that encouraged supporters to make ads for him and upload them to that site. This is a great idea — a political version of Current TV’s “Viewer-Created Ad Message” campaign — and it’s only a matter of time before the more prominent campaigns take up the strategy. But it won’t be the same when Hillary starts asking supporters to make ads for her juggernaut candidacy. Dennis needs our help and support, and he genuinely engages with and represents his supporters. He isn’t raising $30 million every few months and he can’t afford top-notch political advertising. Then again, “professional” political ads generally suck. We can do better. Some Kucinich fans already have.

About 10 ads have been made as a result of the challenge, and so far two of them stand out. The first is from “Raul4Kucinich” — a 21 year old self-described “regular dude with a dangerous combination: passion and creativity.” Raul had the good sense to make his ad exactly 30 seconds, meaning you may actually see it on TV sometime soon. The ad is very well-produced and the ending is particularly effective. If I were Kucinich’s communications director I’d hire this guy immediately to make a series of ads for the campaign.

The second ad is a bit too long for TV, but it’s just as effective and has viral potential. It highlights the pronunciation of Dennis’s surname — playing on the fact that only 35% of likely Democratic voters have ever heard of Kucinich. And it addresses common assumptions about the other candidates while distinguishing Dennis’s positions from the rest of the Democratic field.

There are tens of thousands of active Kucinich supporters across the country. Local activism and voting is, of course, vital — but I would encourage anyone with video experience (even a little) to focus some of that positive energy on producing media with a message and a broad appeal. It is the single most effective way to communicate and encourage others to engage with our view of America and the world.

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Filed under: Kucinich, Video on August 24th, 2007