AD CONTEXT

Since announcing his intention to run for governor of the state of Maryland, Mayor Martin O'Malley has been positioning himself as the champion of many of the issues popular in Maryland politics today, including education, which has become a contentious issue for the gubernatorial campaign. In part, the issue is salient because education is one of the greatest concerns for the state's voters. In addition, though, the Mayor and the Governor have a history of debating this issue. While both candidates believe Maryland faces serious challenges in improving Maryland's education system, Governor Ehrlich believes in encouraging more private partnerships and competition in the educational process, whereas Mayor O'Malley champions the strengthening of traditional public schools and improving benefits for employees in struggling school districts. Mayor O'Malley asserts that Governor Ehrlich did little to champion Maryland 's schools, and in fact, played a role in making them worse through his policies. Meanwhile, Governor Ehrlich attributes the positive gains in Baltimore 's school system to his own statewide education policies, and blames the continued problems on Martin O'Malley's mayoral leadership.

Mayor O'Malley's ad campaign repeatedly juxtaposes his positions with Governor Ehrlich's. The advertisement takes a distinctly negative tone toward the perceived educational failures of the Ehrlich governorship. More than half of the ad's copy focuses on Governor Ehrlich's lack of support for educational funding initiatives, his substantial university tuition increases, and Maryland's failing grades in college affordability. In what is perhaps his campaign's most satirical advertisement, Mayor O'Malley focuses on the cost of higher education in Maryland and suggests his administration will do more to keep tuition down and improve the performance of Maryland 's school system.

Overall, the "Reach" ad reinforces the Mayor's point that Governor Ehrlich's education policies are failing the state. Yet, the ad also positions Mayor O'Malley as the state's champion of education in his race to become Maryland 's governor. The ad's use of satire works to soften the attack and circumvent backlash against the Mayor for his use of negative advertising.

AD CONTENT

Scripted in a problem-solution format, the first two thirds of the advertisement serve to attack Governor Ehrlich for a problem he allegedly created, while the last third explains why Mayor O'Malley represents the solution. The ad follows a traditional format for a political TV spot in its comparison of Governor Ehrlich and Mayor O'Malley. Comparisons such as this one are commonly used to highlight contrasts between two political candidates. The spot orchestrates the threat of another Ehrlich governorship utilizing the popular horror genre. As Nelson and Boynton (1997) explain about this type of advertising generally: “The ad's problem is not just bad but horrifying, not merely important but pressing" (177). Once the problem or horror has been addressed, the ad goes on to celebrate the benefits of the ad's sponsor as the obvious or preferable choice between the two candidates (Nelson & Boynton, 1997). The Mayor's spot embellishes this typical format by adding a sense of satire to the typical "attack" or "horror" segment of the ad.

GENRE

Mayor O'Malley's “Reach” ad combines several recognizable genres to convey its message to the viewer. Satire, as a subgenre of the attack or horror genre, plays the dominant role in nearly the first two thirds of the ad, strongly referenced by the musical background chosen by the ad producers. Feelings of satire are strongly communicated through music, and the satirical use of music commonly associated with children or children's activities is frequently utilized in this satirical ad (Nelson & Boynton, 1997). These devices serve to communicate that Ehrlich's governorship is laughable and Governor Ehrlich is not someone to be taken seriously as a leader. Rather than using smooth transitions to switch from shot to shot, the producers chose, in the "attack" segment of the advertisement, to use bright flashes of white light to switch between the short clips. This creates a jarring, unsettling sensation for the viewer, contributing to the identification of the segment as a part of the "horror" genre.

The advantage of utilizing satire as a genre in this advertisement is that it helps to soften the attack on Governor Ehrlich's political character. Satire can help to soften an attack or horror ad by allowing the viewer to laugh at the comical antics or other satirical features of an advertisement. Satire transforms the attack into an experience that is less uncomfortable for the viewer and helps to humanize the ad's sponsor. As Nelson and Boynton (1997) argue, the “appeal [of an ad] to the rhythms of fairy tales and children's literature take(s) away the nasty edge that negative spots so often suffer (45).”

The "solution" segment of the ad changes to a positive tone, posturing Mayor O'Malley as a dynamic leader, a man of the people, a compassionate guide, and a political hero. The extensive use of children as characters in the ad not only serves to address the issue of education in a visual manner, but also acts to show O'Malley's compassion, making him more appealing and approachable as a leader.

AURAL PERSUASION

Auditory signals play integral roles in communicating the message in the “Reach” ad. Throughout the first segment, while two children jump up and down trying to reach a college diploma positioned high on a living room wall, familiar, comedic music plays prominently in the background, lending a lighter feel to the spot. The narration speaks to the failures of current Governor Ehrlich's education policies and track record. Furthermore, although the music is not so loud as to overpower the narration, it does play a dominant role by defining the emotions the audience is supposed to feel at this point in the ad (Nelson & Boynton, 1997). At the end of this segment the visual cues change and the music begins a dramatic transition to more upbeat, triumphant notes.  No longer a comical tune, the music is both positive, strong, and inspirational; a tone that parallels the positioning of Mayor O'Malley.

VISUAL PERSUASION

Visually, the first two thirds of the ad focus on the negative aspects of Mayor O'Malley's competitor. The first segment of the ad is staged in a setting that represents a middle-class family's living room.   A University of Maryland diploma is perched on a shelf hung high on the living room wall. The first shot is a close-up of the diploma. From here, the camera shot moves to an extreme close-up over the course of this 3-second segment. The angle of the camera does not allow the viewer to observe the diploma head-on; instead, it closes in on the diploma from an angle below the shelf, giving the impression that no matter how close the document seems to be, it is always above you and out of reach. The camera then switches to a wide-shot revealing two children struggling to reach the diploma. This segment of the ad occupies nearly 18 out of the advertisement's 30 seconds, impressing upon the audience through repetition the endless struggle Maryland children are facing in trying to obtain an education under the current leadership. Throughout this segment of the ad, the children seek out various, comical ways to obtain the diploma, stepping on furniture, reaching around from the staircase to grab it, bringing over objects to step on in an attempt to bring them closer, never succeeding in obtaining it.  Their antics clearly juxtapose the serious issue at hand, suggesting that Governor Ehrlich does not take education seriously, as the viewers would expect of their governor.

The transition from the "attack" segment of the ad occurs in the final third of the ad, where the gubernatorial candidate himself walks into the living room setting and hands the diploma to the erstwhile struggling children. An important symbolic message is created as Mayor O'Malley hands the diploma off, not to only one of the children but to both together. The ad suggests, thus, that Mayor O'Malley will ensure that access to education is realized for all children, not just for a select group. The camera cuts away from the living room scene and focuses in on shots of Mayor O'Malley interacting with high-school aged children in an outdoor classroom context as well as two other educational settings. The final visual features Mayor O'Malley posing with a large group of children holding the diploma together, which sends the same message to viewers in a more pronounced and emphatic way: Mayor O'Malley stands for the education of all children.

In addition to the various scenes portrayed, the producers of the ad chose to use headings that resemble newsprint, which are then splashed across the screen, offering a sense of credibility to the information contained in the ad. For example, while the children jump for the diploma and the narrator explains Governor Ehrlich's purportedly poor educational record, headers such as “an ‘F' in college affordability” and “college tuition has increased over 40%” appear. The use of these key phrases, in bold newsprint, implies that the Mayor is not alone in his critique of the Governor's education policies.

Baltimore Sun

In an article released shortly after the "Reach" ad first aired, O'Malley addresses the issue of education, a hot topic in his campaign against incumbent Governor Ehrlich. The ad targets in particular the lack of affordability of college education due to Governor Ehrlich's education policies. The ad argues that the wording of the ad suggests that Mayor O'Malley will enact a tuition freeze if elected, despite the O'Malley campaign making no such promise.

Nelson, John S., and G.R. Boynton. Video Rhetorics: Televised Advertising in American Politics . Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1997.

http://www.martinomalley.com/news , September 16, 2006