When I heard that
MoveOn was sponsoring an anti-Bush advertising contest, I was eager to submit some scripts. Then I found out you actually had to
make the ads. I don't have any video equipment, so I started this website instead. One of my major goals was to review the Bush in 30 Seconds ads. No problem, I thought. At most, there will be a few dozen ads to choose from.
Wrong! I underestimated the creativity and determination of MoveOn's members. About 1500 ads were submitted. So many ads were submitted that there is no way we could review them all, even if MoveOn hadn't limited viewers to 20 ads a day.
Voting ends today and soon we'll know the best of the best and the rest of the ads will likely (and in many cases, deservadely) be forgotten. Before that happens, I'd like to share some of the entries I thought were notable. These aren't necessarily the best ads, but they are the ones I thought were the most interesting.
This is cross-posted from BushOut.TV.
If the Bush Administration was your Roommate series is not particularly convincing, but quite funny (I'm still looking for the one about doing the dishes).
The Party's Over uses anti-Bush administration policy quotes from Republican leaders against him. This ad is reminicent of LBJ's Republican Convention ad.
In Lost my job a rich guy steals money from a jobless pan-handler.
I am a carpenter is a simple, effective ad from a real carpenter who's going bankrupt in Bush's economy.
Brother, can you spare a job? is a funny 1930s-style cartoon.
In Bush Leads, America Bleeds the Battle Hymn of the Republic plays as the US flag slowly drains of color. It's simple and effective but I don't like the final animation of the blood drop because it doesn't look realistic.
In Al Keyda the Patriot Act results in an unpleasant surprise for an unfortunately named American.
At Bush's Repair Shop, a mechanic trashes a car while claiming to fix it.
The Reverse Robin Hood is a spoken word performance that I like. It probably wouldn't play very widely and it didn't get a very high rating, but I still like this spot.
School Yard Politics is a fun animated metaphor for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the application of the metaphor to real life sets a dangerous trap for liberals.
Ducting the Constitution is right on the line between funny and terrible.
In Everything is Fine bums display increasingly desperate-sounding Bush administration messages as Bush soundbytes play in the background and a mournful blues chorus asks, "Which side are you on?" This ad is haunting and shamefully under-rated.
Finally, In My Country and Child's Play are some of the most powerful ads I've seen in the contest. They've both got solid 4.0 ratings.
Over at Daily Kos, Rosebud posts a list of her (his?) favorite ads. What are yours?