So... how should the jedis at Trippilabs counter the Dean/bin Laden 2004 ad? I've briefly sketched out two alternatives below.
The issue ad:
Black screen with the number $90,000,000,000 slowly appearing in white.
Voiceover: George Bush has spent almost $90 Billion on the war in Iraq.
Screen fades to white
Voiceover: Meanwhile, he's left us with weak security at our chemical plants, (image of a barrel of S02 or something similarly nasty covered in labels saying "DANGER" and showing a deathshead), nuclear plants (shot of cooling towers, maybe with a radiation symbol somewhere in the foreground), and harbors (shot of barge floating past the Statue of Liberty, possibly with a mushroom cloud faintly superimposed on the image). And hundreds of thousands of police, firefighters, and paramedics have lost their jobs (show pictures of FDNY/NYPD/New York EMT's from 9/11, or show groups of local police, firefighters, and EMTs).
Shot of Dean talking to police, firefighters, EMTs, and veterans. Hopefully in settings like ERs, Veteran's Hospitals, and police/fireman union meetings that have Progressive connotations.
Voiceover: Howard Dean is the only candidate that opposed Bush's national security policy from the beginning. He opposed the war in Iraq, wants more funding to protect local targets, and will hire more emergency personnel.
HD: I'm Howard Dean. And I authorized this message because your security is what matters most.
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Anti-Kerry/Gephardt ad:
Video: Kerry with Bush
Voiceover: "John Kerry"
Video: Gephardt with Bush in Rose Garden
Voiceover: "Dick Gephardt"
Video: show stills of Gep and Kerry at various angry poses from debates
Voiceover: "In the last 3 years, their states of Massachusetts an Missouri have lost (x) police. They've lost (y) firefighters. And (z) emergency workers. All together they've lost thousands of the people who keep us safe from terrorists. So why are they attacking Howard Dean about national security today?"
Video: similar to above, Dean with first responders
Voiceover (again, similar to above): Howard Dean is the only candidate that opposed Bush's national security policy from the beginning. He opposed the war in Iraq, wants more funding to protect local targets, and will hire more emergency personnel.
HD: "I'm Howard Dean, and I approve this message because the most important part of national security isn't the war in Iraq. It's keeping your family safe at home."