Two things happened this morning over my first cup of coffee. First, I heard about this new Herman Cain ad that has his chief of staff smoking (which was getting all the attention), and second, I was looking around for news and had no less than three pop up ads for Herman Cain’s new book… Newt… Herman is taking over your business model, I think.
Insofar as this odd political commercial, I don’t really care personally if this guy takes a drag on a cigarette (even though it’s clearly not a smart social statement for the general public, but indeed effective and getting buzz). That was just to get people to talk about it. Fine. It worked.
I care even less what someone on Herman Cain’s payroll things about his boss… I can pay people to say nice things about me, too.
What bothers me about the commercial is the end and the overall vibe… it’s just too darn creepy. The music choice is terrible. I’ve had film students produce commercials that had a better production quality, as well. It’s a “we don’t really care” commercial as far as I’m concerned.
But the creepy: The “glamorized” drag on his cigarette fading into a WAY too long shot of Herman Cain who (even more waaay too slowly) shifting into a sardonic smile with a touch of smirk… it’s just creepy. It a pizza with too much grease that no amount of napkin dabbing can alleviate. It’s not presidential, and all I read from that smile is Herman Cain thinking, “Yup… I’m going to sell an awful lot of books and get even more speaking engagements from this.”
It’s as if you can just hear them all laughing at the voting public after they completed the shot and send it out for the 30 minutes of editing time it was given.
