They will do it eventually. Hell, they've started already with the usual suspects saying Bush critics are al Qaeda fellow travellers. You've got Clinton, Dean, Gore, Reid and Kerry landing punches. But it's too unfocussed, too piecemeal. You need to tie it all together quickly, in an ad so shocking it gets talked about.
And get it out everywhere, in all formats, at the same time. Make it a media event. Tease it ahead of the big broadcast. Banner ads. Bumpers. Flash ads. Just the packshot/punchline and the date of the launch. Once you've got everybody talking about it. Wondering what it is. Asking their workmates, friends, neighbours. Then you hit it.
So here it is. My ad. Bear in mind I have no idea what I am talking about.
Black.
Fade up audio of terrified voices, screams, waves, wind, chaos. No backing music or doomy chords. Keep it lo-fi, grungy, stark.
Fade up video of scenes of Katrina (during and aftermath). Newscast, amateur video, stills with the Ken Burns effect.
Split screen. Left side: video and audio of hurricane winds and waves. Right side: video and audio of scared people, angry people, flooded New Orleans from a helicopter.
Split screen into quarters. Lower left: Aerial shots of school buses lined up for evac and going nowhere. Lower right: Bush, McCain, cake. Bush and guitar.
Fade out audio apart from Bush saying: "Nobody could have predicted the levees would be breached."
Sound FX: CRASH! Full screen: FEMA memo with caption: "two days before the storm".
Zoom up words with SFX: CRASH! "could" CRASH! "greatly" CRASH! "overtop" CRASH! "levees".
Black. Silence.
Fade up audio: Terrified voices, screams, planes crashing, buildings falling.
Fade up video: September 11.
Split screen: Left side: Planes hitting, towers falling. Right side: People running, crying, staring.
Quarter screen: Lower left: People evacuating over bridges. Lower right: Bush and My Pet Goat.
Fade out audio apart from Bush saying: "Nobody could have predicted..."
Sound FX: CRASH! Full screen: PDB with caption: "two weeks before the attack".
Zoom up words with SFX: CRASH! "bin Laden" CRASH! "determined" CRASH! "to strike" CRASH! "in US".
Black. Silence.
Fade up audio and video of some GOP talking head saying: "... Democrats playing politics and taking advantage of national tragedy..."
SFX: CRASH! Abu Ghraib pic. Big red caption: "TORTURE"
Cut to rapid video/audio montage of pols and pundits saying "9/11" or "September 11" in speeches and on TV. Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Bush.
SFX: CRASH! Fallujah bombing pic. Big red caption: "SHOCK & AWE"
Montage: Powell, Cheney, Zell Miller, Guiliani, Bush: "9/11", "September 11".
SFX: CRASH! WMD pic. Big red caption: "INTELLIGENCE FAILURE"
Montage: Rumsfeld, Rice, O'Reilly, DeLay, Bush: "9/11", "September 11".
SFX: CRASH! Abramoff pic. Big red caption: "CORRUPTION"
Montage: Matthews, Coulter, Carlsson, Bush: "9/11", "September 11".
SFX: CRASH! Tape recorder pic. Big red caption: "ILLEGAL WIRETAPS"
Montage: Gonzales, Alito, Hadley, Bush: "9/11", "September 11"
Black. Silence.
Fade in audio/video of Bush saying: "It's my job to protect the American people..."
SFX: CRASH! Freeze frame Bush. Big red caption: "FAILURE"
SFX: CRASH! Black screen. Big red caption: "DO YOU FEEL SAFER?"
End.