WOMAN #2: He hasn't governed from the right...

MAN #1: or the left...

WOMAN #3: ...but the center, where most of us are.

MAN #2: Some were upset when Ehrlich refused to raise income taxes...

WOMAN #4: ...or insisted that Annapolis keep spending under control.

WOMAN #5: Others got annoyed when he fought to save the bay...

WOMAN #6: ...and pushed stem cell research.

MAN #3: When faced with a crisis on electric rates...

WOMAN #7: ...Ehrlich could have blamed others.

MAN #4: Instead, he led...

WOMAN #8: ...and that's what a governor should do

MAN #4: Bob Ehrlich.

MAN #2: Bob Ehrlich.

WOMAN #2: Bob Ehrlich. He said he'd change Maryland for the better, and he has.

(Text on screen: Paid For By Bob Ehrlich For Maryland Committee; Henry A. Grandizo, Treasurer)

Ad Context  

"Leader" is a 30-second spot which launched the Bob Ehrlich for Governor 2006 campaign. Robert Ehrlich, the gubernatorial incumbent faced stiff competition in pre-primary polls. Such polls revealed that Governor Ehrlich trailed behind his projected opponent, Martin O'Malley, mayor of Baltimore (Green, 2006). Consequently, this ad originally aired the week of June21, 2006, largely in the Baltimore media market. As the title reveals, this ad attempts to cast Governor Bob Ehrlich as an effective and innovative leader. Genre-wise, this is a classic "folks-on-the-street-endorsement" ad (Nelson and Boynton, 1997, 34). In this ad, a racially diverse group of men and women, situated in strategically staged locations, attest to Ehrlich's successful leadership. Significantly, the absence of Governor Ehrlich speaking in the ad also contributes to his construction as a successful "Leader." While staging and location are important to understanding how this ad works, Governor Ehrlich's efficacy as a leader is also implied through dynamic visual and aural cues.

Locating the Leader 

In order to grasp why "Leader" is an effective ad with which to launch the Ehrlich campaign, we should unpack the loaded ways in which "leadership" operates in contemporary U.S. politics. Political theorist, Murray Edelman, argues that contemporary leaders are often cast as dynamic innovators who deserved to be followed (Edelman 2000). They are often cast as exceptional individuals prepared to confront challenges. They are also seen as "bigger than life" (Erikson, 2000, 143) The speakers in "Leader" help apply these characteristics to Governor Ehrlich, while their respective staged locations give the impression of the scope of Robert Ehrlich's success.

In the ad, 11 speakers describe Ehrlich's accomplishments and make claims about his character. An older African-American woman, situated on the viewers' right claims, "He hasn't governed from the right…" A middle aged, white appearing man, standing on the left of the viewers' screen adds, "or the left…" A white woman, standing on what seems to be a mid-sized city sidewalk concludes: "but the center, where most of us are." Each speaker's physical location on the screen is used to reflect the extremity of far right or far left politics as well as the coherence and focus of the center. The white woman, speaking from the center of the screen, creates a virtual community with viewers as she uses the pronoun, "us." The "us" includes the white woman, the black man, the white man, and the older black woman, highlighting the diversity of Governor Ehrlich's constituents. Locating Robert Ehrlich's governorship in the center (politically and on the screen) voters are reassured of his focus and their ability to focus on him.

Subsequent speakers allude to how "some were upset" by Governor Ehrlich's tax policies and how "others got annoyed" by the Governor's environmental conservation work or support of stem cell research. These claims all posit Robert Ehrlich as an independent thinking politician whose policies challenge the status quo. A black woman, standing on a city street also claims some were upset when Governor Ehrlich "…insisted that Annapolis keep spending under control." This statement distances the Governor from the established (and implicitly corrupt) seat of power, " Annapolis." " Annapolis " remains vague, as do the "some" who were upset and "others" who were annoyed by Governor Ehrlich.

The claims are further substantiated by the settings in which each person is staged. The setting and music work together to place each speaker in a naturalized environment that indicates to the viewers that their location makes them credible informants. Eleven speakers are featured in 15 shots in this 30-second ad. Each person is staged in a location that speaks directly to the issue he or she claims Governor Ehrlich addressed. Staging is important in this ad because the scenery, in some shots, offer visual proof or legitimacy to a claim. Similarly, each claim is punctuated (either before or after each claim) by an uninhabited shot of the location as well as a swell in the orchestral music that plays as the soundtrack of this ad. Each spot presents a euotopia , or an "…ideal or perfected space" (Nelson and Boynton, 1997, 221). By showing the myriad of spaces perfected or improved by Ehrlich's leadership, the "bigger than life" and far reaching success of the Governor is implied. The dynamic camera actions heighten viewers' sense of Governor Ehrlich's own dynamism by using frequent changing scenes.

While this strategy is repeated for every speaker and scene in the 30 second ad, one scene in "Leader" exemplifies this claim. In a scene 9 seconds into the ad, an African American man finishes speaking and the upbeat, guitar Muzak is fore-grounded. A sweeping shot takes the viewers' eye from the lower left of the screen up, over trees, to two shots of the Capitol building in Annapolis . From the viewers' perspective, the building is distant, out of the center of the frame, down a street, beyond some trees. This shot is immediately followed by another shot of the top of the Capitol building. These shots are followed by an African American woman on a city sidewalk discussing how Governor Ehrlich "insisted Annapolis keep spending under control." This contributes to the earlier claim of casting Annapolis as a nebulous seat of power. In the shot, it is constructed as out of reach for the viewer. The Black woman who comments on the spending is shown immediately after the second shot of the Capitol, on a busy city sidewalk. The juxtaposition of the images of the Capitol building with the woman on the street narrows the range of interpretation (Stephens 1998, 185). The flash of the Capitol stands in for faceless power and the woman on the street compels the viewer to imply that she is somehow in Annapolis and has an insider, local appreciation of the over spending done by "Annapolis."

This is repeated to varying degrees in every shot of the ad. A shot of a grazing herd of cows on a farm is voiced over by the pleasant Muzak. Next, the ad cuts to an white man in a trucker/farmer's cap speaking about the "energy crisis." Such symbolism signals his status as a rural Marylander, a farmer concerned with rising energy costs. A tight shot of a white woman speaking of Governor Ehrlich's fight to "save the bay" is immediately followed by a long sweeping shot of the bay. This image signals that this woman is an environmentalist and close to nature. A white woman holding a child on a city sidewalk testifies to Governor Ehrlich's support of stem cell research, implying that she is a suburban mom concerned with this issue. Yet, she is obviously not "anti child" as some discourses on stem cell research suggest about those who promote its necessity. Each person's location corresponds to her or his issue, casting him or her as a local informant. Often in mass media, credibility is garnered by an "on location" status. When viewers assume that correspondents are local, their perception of events is deemed more accurate (Zelizer 1992). The constant change of scenery and the lack of a consistent narrator are significant, as those elements lend a degree of activity to the telespot. The constant changes alert viewers to Governor Ehrlich's "active leadership" (Erikson, 2000, 146) by marking each successful initiative with a change in scenery.

The ad is book-ended by Maryland voters looking directly into the camera and stating Bob Erhlich's name. The last three people to speak in the ad are a Latino looking man, a Black middle-aged man, and a Black older woman. The older black woman ends the ad by saying, "Bob Ehrlich. He said he'd change Maryland for the better, and he has." She appears earlier in the ad and is situated on what looks like an enclosed porch of the sunny inside of her house. Her age and race are significant, as she represents a triply marginalized constituent. She is African American, female, and visibly older than middle aged. She legitimizes Ehrlich's history because her age makes her a credible witness to history. Her race and gender indicate that even gender and racial minorities in Maryland can attest to Governor Ehrlich's successful leadership. This is also a nod to the African American constituency attracted by African American Lt. Governor's Michael Steele's black, suburban target demographic.

WHO'S TALKING ABOUT THIS AD?

Interestingly, the Ehrlich for Governor campaign has made the most visible comment on "Leader." "Leader" was the first ad in the Bob Ehrlich for Governor campaign. Its structure and spokespeople blanketed the Baltimore area for a week. This initial blitz helped introduce audiences to Ehrlich's campaign; it also introduced viewers to the people in the ad. Two months later, the same correspondents re-appeared in the Ehrlich ad, "Still Changing." "Still Changing features almost all of the same people introduced in "Leader." They are all situated in the same locations as seen in "Leader." This allows viewers to feel a sense of familiarity, bred by repetition of form and archetype.

For a more thorough analysis of "Still Changing," see: http://www.umdparc.org/EhrlichAnalysisStillChanging.htm

Ad Spotlight. (2006, 22 June). 2006 Political Ads: Maryland Governor, Bob Ehrlich for Governor: "Leader". National Journal Policy Database. Retrieved 23 September 2006, from http://nationaljournal.com.

Edelman, M. (1988). Constructing the Political Spectacle . Chicago : University of Chicago Press.

Erikson, Keith V. (2000). "Presidential Rhetoric's Visual Turn: Performance Fragments and the Politics of Illusionism." Communication Monographs (67): 138-157.

Green, Andrew A. ( 30 July 2006 ). "For now Ehrlich is busy avoiding campaign mode; Governor's strategy stresses his status as the incumbent; Maryland Votes 2006" Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 6 October 2006.

Nelson, J. S., & Boynton, G. R. (1997). Video Rhetorics: Televised Advertising in American Politics. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.

Stephens, Mitchell. (1998). The Rise of the Image the Fall of the Word. New York: Oxford University Press.

Zelizer, Barbie. (1992). Covering the Body: The Kennedy Assassination, the Media, and the Shaping of Collective Memory. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.