You don't necessarily think "innovation" when you hear "Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee," but they've got a new online ad strategy that is definitely a new thing in political advertising.
The spot, which will target voters in Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Instead of a traditional thirty-second clip, it optimizes viewer experiences by breaking the advertisement into six-second increments. And instead of being presented all at once on a single website, those six-second increments follow a user as he or she travels around the Internet. In other words, viewers will see the first part of the ad as they begin their day at thedailybeast.com. They will then see a second portion of the ad as they move on to a different website; and then a third portion of the ad as they go to yet another page.
This less disruptive format has been deployed by content providers seeking to grab viewer's attention in an age of Snapchat and short attention spans. But a DSCC official says this is the first time this cycle that they or any other committee has utilized the format. Google helped the committee utilize its technology, the official said.
The ad is a simulated text conversation between a child and their mother, starting with kind of a grabby question: "How do I know if I need stitches?" Subsequent texts tell the story of a family that doesn't have insurance and a really expensive emergency room visit, and toss in a picture of whichever Republican senator is being targeted in the ad, with a headline from a local paper talking about the health care vote they just cast.
The ad maybe needs another screen explaining that this isn't the outcome, but rather the Republicans’ ongoing vision. No, they didn't pass repeal and didn't successfully take anyone's insurance away. But they sure as hell want to. Watch the innovative ad below.
Please give $1 to each of our Senate funds so that Republican senators—particularly Dean Heller—know there's a price to pay for their votes to repeal health care.