"Priorities"
"Priorities" / 2020 Spec Ad from Mark Kosin on Vimeo.
*The data in this ad reflects totals as of the final day of the Republican National Convention on 8/27/20. This is a spec ad created without funds or collaboration with any campaign, PAC, or political group.*
The 5 Minute Story of this Ad
I wanted to spend a week this fall in Wisconsin.
Well, the plan was to stay just over the border in Galena, Illinois but I was going to spend most of my time in Wisconsin, and some of it in Iowa, volunteering and being part of GOTV (get out the vote) efforts in those two states. The goal was to ease my conscience and my soul that I had done all I could, on a personal level, to see that the current administration did not enjoy re-election.
(If you don't know why someone might do that, please contact me and I'll give you the first 100 or so reasons that come to mind)
I wanted to knock on doors. Pass out lawn signs. Talk to voters in diners... the whole sappy scene.
But then 2020 happened and door knocking was not just difficult, but aggressively discouraged.
So instead of diving headfirst into campaign ground game life, like many others I've done what I can: donate, make calls, donate, write postcards, donate, doom scroll, stress eat, stare into the abyss, and donate some more. And as important and useful as all that is, it still didn't feel personal. I didn't feel like I was giving of myself the way I had wanted to.
You can assume what happened next: I remembered I'm a copywriter with a filmmaking background and set out to make my very own anti-Trump ad.
Now, as anyone with a screen knows, there are thousands of such ads out there. I wanted mine to be different. On top of all the malicious politics and incompetence of this administration, the well-documented abject failure of the President to effectively meet the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic stands out above all else (with all voter groups).
What really digs at me, and I think is overwhelmingly clear to anyone who cares to look close enough, is the bewildering sense of apathy the President has shown (even still!) when it comes to the simple ways we can slow the spread. Whether it's his off-the-cuff remarks downplaying the virus or his crowded, maskless rallies, it's shocking how he seems unwilling to model responsible behavior.
One thing that I'll readily acknowledge is that the President has legions of followers who will listen to his every word. And yet he clearly refuses to use his bully pulpit to forcefully share these crucial public health messages.
I thought this shocking abdication of basic duties by the President might be the right way to create a different kind of ad. So I decided to zero in on the channel where the most bullying (and press coverage) happens: his Twitter account.
I had my suspicions, but in doing the research even I was stunned at how truly scarce any of these basic health messages of washing hands, keeping social distance, and wearing a mask were from the President's Twitter account.
To me, it was a clear reflection of his priorities. A unique and succinct example of this President's inability and unwillingness to confront this health catastrophe head on.
I don't know how many people will see it. The ad may not change a single mind. But it has allowed me to make my own personal contribution to what I see as the most important election in my lifetime.
*Please feel free to share your thoughts on comments on the ad here.
**And if you are from Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina or Ohio please go ahead and forward this to two-hundred of your closest friends, thanks!!!!
The 5 Minute Story of this Ad
I wanted to spend a week this fall in Wisconsin.
Well, the plan was to stay just over the border in Galena, Illinois but I was going to spend most of my time in Wisconsin, and some of it in Iowa, volunteering and being part of GOTV (get out the vote) efforts in those two states. The goal was to ease my conscience and my soul that I had done all I could, on a personal level, to see that the current administration did not enjoy re-election.
(If you don't know why someone might do that, please contact me and I'll give you the first 100 or so reasons that come to mind)
I wanted to knock on doors. Pass out lawn signs. Talk to voters in diners... the whole sappy scene.
But then 2020 happened and door knocking was not just difficult, but aggressively discouraged.
So instead of diving headfirst into campaign ground game life, like many others I've done what I can: donate, make calls, donate, write postcards, donate, doom scroll, stress eat, stare into the abyss, and donate some more. And as important and useful as all that is, it still didn't feel personal. I didn't feel like I was giving of myself the way I had wanted to.
You can assume what happened next: I remembered I'm a copywriter with a filmmaking background and set out to make my very own anti-Trump ad.
Now, as anyone with a screen knows, there are thousands of such ads out there. I wanted mine to be different. On top of all the malicious politics and incompetence of this administration, the well-documented abject failure of the President to effectively meet the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic stands out above all else (with all voter groups).
What really digs at me, and I think is overwhelmingly clear to anyone who cares to look close enough, is the bewildering sense of apathy the President has shown (even still!) when it comes to the simple ways we can slow the spread. Whether it's his off-the-cuff remarks downplaying the virus or his crowded, maskless rallies, it's shocking how he seems unwilling to model responsible behavior.
One thing that I'll readily acknowledge is that the President has legions of followers who will listen to his every word. And yet he clearly refuses to use his bully pulpit to forcefully share these crucial public health messages.
I thought this shocking abdication of basic duties by the President might be the right way to create a different kind of ad. So I decided to zero in on the channel where the most bullying (and press coverage) happens: his Twitter account.
I had my suspicions, but in doing the research even I was stunned at how truly scarce any of these basic health messages of washing hands, keeping social distance, and wearing a mask were from the President's Twitter account.
To me, it was a clear reflection of his priorities. A unique and succinct example of this President's inability and unwillingness to confront this health catastrophe head on.
I don't know how many people will see it. The ad may not change a single mind. But it has allowed me to make my own personal contribution to what I see as the most important election in my lifetime.
*Please feel free to share your thoughts on comments on the ad here.
**And if you are from Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina or Ohio please go ahead and forward this to two-hundred of your closest friends, thanks!!!!