Ad Watch- Barack Obama- "Appearances"

I choose to view one of Barack Obama’s appearances rather than a traditional television advertisement. Barack Obama appeared on the David Letterman Show on April 9, 2007. Besides viewers being able to see it on television when it aired, the video was also posted on youtube.com, a popular video broadcasting website. With technology and the Internet, more people are tuned into other media outlets to get their political information and youtube.com is one of them. This makes it necessary to branch out beyond traditional media when analyzing political advertisements and messages.

It was interesting that Letterman introduced Obama as a “freshmen” senator from Illinois. It was almost as if Letterman was calling attention to the fact that Obama is not very experienced. However, according to the Internet Movie Database, Letterman said “I believe I have voted for both Democrats and Republicans. Am I either one? Absolutely not. Ladies and gentlemen, I am an American.” In this clip, Obama was dressed very clean cut and had a white shirt with a blue tie on. The white and blue combination may have been a subtle hint at patriotism.

BarackObama.com posted this clip on youtube.com and I could tell that it had been edited. Because of this, I searched out the original, unedited, version to see if they were editing out anything in particular. I found the same clip posted by a Youtube user, not Obama’s campaign team, and chose to use this unedited version to analyze for the Ad Watch. What I found was that Letterman’s first question to Obama was if he was still smoking cigarettes followed by a discussion about Nicorette gum and the perils of quitting smoking. BarackObama.com conveniently edited this portion of the interview out. Besides that, the editing seems to simply shorten the clip and make it timely. Some of the portions that were edited out were actually quite compelling and persuasive and it may have been better to leave it in. They edited out the Obama’s discussion about how he wants a graduated removal plan for the troops in Iraq. He says, “We can’t stay the course we‘ve been on. There are no good options in Iraq. At this point, there are bad option and worse options.” He says the money we are spending in Iraq could be better spent on schools, roads and better healthcare. Unfortunately, BarakObama.com edited that out in the version they posted. Obama’s campaign failed to reply to my phone calls and emails.

The visuals in this video clip are very straightforward. Because it is not a typical television advertisement, there is not as much special effects, music or editing. They used the regular studio lighting and didn’t seem to enhance the clip by using special effects or music. Obama and Letterman’s interview has the feel of being very raw and uncut. The audience did clap a lot after Obama spoke, especially when he said something emotionally moving. I don’t know if this is because the audience really felt strongly about what Obama was saying or if there was a sign in the studio that said “Applause.” He also tends to looks at the audience more than at Letterman as if he is seeking approval after he says something.

There was not much mentioned about his past political stances. He doesn’t talk about how he has voted in the past on key issues or what bills he has supported or not supported in Illinois. He discusses a recent bill that they sent to Congress, which was a timetable of when we will be leaving Iraq. According to Obama, President George Bush threatened to veto this bill. Obama feels very strongly about removing the troops from Iraq; he told CNN that if the troops are not out of Iraq when he enters the office, he will immediately initiate a plan of gradual withdrawal. I also noticed that he doesn’t use the words “democrat” or “republican” very often. Instead he uses phrases like “our colleagues on the other side of the isle” to refer to Republicans.

Some of the claims made by Obama are “You don’t go to war based on faulty intelligence,” “We want to be partners with [Iraq]. We want to help you rebuild your country. But we’re not going to be able to do it by sending more and more young men and women [to Iraq].” “We’ve got to win over hearts and minds.” Letterman even asks a question that many Americans have probably asked themselves: “Is it a good time now to be wanting this office?” Because of budget problems, broken healthcare system, and the war in Iraq, all of the presidential candidates are undertaking a phenomenal amount of responsibility. But Obama explains that this is a great time to take office. The opportunities are endless to make a change. Americans are more mobilized than ever and are paying attention to what is going on around them. Obama’s campaign is based on the premise of “change” so it makes sense that he uses that word frequently in his interview.

I decided to analyze this Obama’s appearance though Baker and Martinson’s TARES Test of Ethical Advertising. Obama’s answers during Letterman’s interview were truthful. Even if some facts were omitted, which in a short interview is inevitable, Obama provided information that was true. He was very authentic, which I think is one of the reasons that Obama has gained such enormous support. He treats the American public with respect; he talks about how motivated we are for change and that he feels for the families of the troops in Iraq. He is also respectful to the other party and stays away from partisan terminology; he doesn’t use language that divides. Obama does not go into political jargon or talk beyond the audience, but rather to the audience; he treats his audience as an equal in his discourse. He practiced social responsibility in his words on the Letterman Show. He didn’t stereotype any groups or make comments that would offend certain people. He wants to be out of the war and for the soldiers to be at home with their families.

I applied Kant’s Categorical Imperative to this television appearance, which states that one should act only if they would want that action to be universal. Although this was not an advertisement in the tradition sense, it still was a way for Obama to promote his campaign. I think this appearance could be universalized. It is an example of honest and ethical political discourse. If more politicians were honest and truthful in their advertisements and stayed away from bashing their opponent, maybe the public wouldn’t be so jaded with politics.

After analyzing this video clip using the TARES method and Kant’s Categorical Imperative, I conclude that this is an ethical advertisement. This advertisement passed the philosophical ethical test by Kant and a more recent ethical test specifically for advertising, the TARES test. This advertisement provides truthful and sincere information to the American public. Hopefully future politics continue on this path of ethical, honest political discourse.

Outside Sources Used:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=MAVauLsJ56Q ß link to the clip

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2007/07/30/obama-wouldnt-leave-iraq-immediately/

Patterson, Philip and Lee Wilkins. Media Ethics: Issues and Cases. Sixth Edition. Boston,

MA: McGraw Hill. Chapter 3: Advertising Ethics: From Buyer Beware to

Empowerment." pp. 68-93.

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