1. - siriusly - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 8:42 am:

   I like the Hoffman ad. The blinking doesn’t really bother me. Not sure I would have even noticed it if you didn’t mention it.

   Hoffman only gets this one first chance to introduce himself before Alexi starts swinging away with his own messages. This buy should be big for him. I give the ad a 8/10. If he makes the buy big enough, people will may start to think of him as a viable alternative to Alexi.




2. - Robo - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 8:42 am:

   Crime bosses are still here, City corruption still flourishes and Hoffman wants a new job.




3. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 8:47 am:

   siriusly, try watching with the sound off. That’s the best way to rate a TV ad, and that’s how I noticed the blinking.

   Robo, do you mean that all problems have to be solved before somebody moves on? Nobody would ever be able to move up the political ladder if that was the case.

   Try to stick to the ad, please, not your little political asides. Thanks.




4. - grant39 - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 8:49 am:

   Agree with Robo. Great job, kid! Fix the parking meter mess in DC next! He should be running for something else.




5. - Cindy Lou - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 8:53 am:

   I don’t know and can’t say for ‘the people of Illinois’ as a whole but can say I’m am thrilled to death right now over a year ago(as I assume are many outdoor type folks) to have traded in our acting director and gonna be director for a real director in DNR that actually cares and is trying hard to rebuild what the previous ones did not give a hoot about. Does that count?




6. - grant39 - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 8:54 am:

   The ad: not bad, but it seemed a little sparse. Maybe it needs some background musical accompaniment. He comes off as awfully green to me, as well, which is hilarious considering that Lexi is his main rival.




7. - Easy - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 8:56 am:

   kudos to Mckenna. they jumped on Quinn’s misstatements and put some muscle behind the message. right now, Mckenna is Hynes’ best friend.




8. - shore - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 9:03 am:

   The problem with mckenna is he says nothing of substance. Hair is not an answer.

   The problem for hoffman is 8 years ago democrats took power in Illinois and promised to clean up the mess. 8 years later, 3 years after they took congress and a year after they’ve taken the white house and we are still talking about corruption only now it’s THEIR corruption. 3 chances to get it right and so we are supposed to buy the 4th?

   Politico reported this morning that Mark Kirk was invited to the west point speech, an interesting choice given that there are a lot more members of congress with military service and who aren’t trying to embarass the white house by taking the presidents senate seat.




9. - Smoochy-Poochy - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 9:05 am:

   McKenna gets a 7 or 8. It’s laid out well and executed beautifully. Slick (w/o the negative connotation) Repeated long enough makes a new man out of old Andy. Be interesting to see what he’s driving (pts.).

   Hoffman’s has a freshman feel to it. Issues are fine, visuals thrown together. Won’t change my vote either way.




10. - corvax - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 9:07 am:

    i’m with grant–Hoffman seems to be running a campaign for state’s attorney




11. - TTL, III - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 9:08 am:

    Blinking is very distracting - and he looks very, very young. No older than Alexi that’s for sure. Isn’t he in his 40s?

    I realize that he needs people to learn who he is, hence all the direct face time in the ad- but there’s nothing really eye-catching about this.

    I’m not sure the message is very strong either. Don’t send another banker or lobbyist to Washington? OK- let’s send another lawyer! Sheesh.




12. - John Bambenek - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 9:09 am:

    McKenna is not only Hynes’ best friend, he’s also the eventual GOP nominee’s best friend. Between McKenna and Hynes’ they handle all the negative campaigning for the real GOP nominee.

    If McKenna manages to buy it, it doesn’t matter because the ILGOP splinters and we face a down-ticket slaughter as a result. When you’ve got county chairs saying that if he’s the nominee that they’ll leave the party and campaign for Lex Green, you know you’ve got problems.




13. - S.E. - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 9:23 am:

    This probably isn’t fair to Hoffman, but the first thing that came to my mind while watching him was “gee, that haircut must have cost him a lot of money.”

    He’s trying to strike a pose as a tough prosecutor and it just doesn’t work. He looks too young and a little too slick. I agree with grant39 — the ad could have used some more production elements.




14. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 9:24 am:

    Can McKenna speak? I have yet to hear him say anything.

    I give his ad a zero. There’s no substance. Only Andy McKenna? Why? And how did he figure the race is between him and Quinn, anyway?

    Once again, Illinois is not facing bankruptcy. It’s not possible. However, many of the vendors the deadbeat state stiffs month after month probably are.

    If “only Andy McKenna” would address that. But he’s an empty suit.




15. - heet101 - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 9:30 am:

    That ad is hairable and a huge waste of money. I didn’t learn anything about him. Remind me again, how does this bring Jim Ryan’s numbers down?




16. - John Bambenek - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 9:33 am:

    I think Stu Levine and the Sun-Times are handling Jim Ryan… and certainly Dillard’s supporters are savaging him.




17. - KeepSmiling - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 9:41 am:

    McKenna ad - 7. Attention grabbing, visually effective. But the line “freeze spending and hold the line on taxes” sounds - at this point - so unbelievable that it seems almost like a lie. He needs a better closer after hitting Quinn.

    Hoffman ad - 5. The ad is so focused on his face, that I initially didn’t connect him to the office for which he’s running. Could be any office, really. But after watching the ad three times, it grew on me. I still think he should have the US Capitol behind him, or an image of the flag or something.




18. - Nick - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 9:46 am:

    Yeah John, Dillard is in single digits but his campaign is still kicking people. The field needs to just sit back and let the three big boys (Jim, Bill, and Andy) play for the win. Why continue to beat people up just to get to 10 points? No point.




19. - Carl Nyberg - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 9:49 am:

    Alexi Giannoulias campaign declined to seek the IVI-IPO endorsement, which is a decision I can accept from the perspective of cold-blooded politics. Giannoulias has largely built the winning coalition; it’s smart to avoid answering 100+ questions that can be used to attack Giannoulias later. Getting the IVI-IPO endorsement isn’t that important.

    What bugs me is that Giannoulias campaign didn’t simply decline to respond, but kinda left the door open that they would respond. From what the IVI-IPO person dealing with Giannoulias’ campaign said, ultimately the campaign manager was just rude to her.

    Being rude is more of a sin than not responding.

    I’m open to voting for Hoffman or one of the other candidates, but…

    Would it be asking too much for Hoffman to explain what he thinks should be done to hold bankers and other power brokers accountable?

    Hoffman seems more concerned about finding individuals who do something he finds morally questionable than challenging systemic issues. Hoffman will raise issues about the parking meter deal, but he’s not willing to tackle the problem as a systemic issue of privatization and trading future revenue streams for money in the here and now.

    Hoffman is willing to needle Giannoulias over $1.5 million of inheritance, but has Hoffman said he’d push to restore the inheritance tax?

    Hoffman’s ad fails to assuage my concerns about Hoffman as a potential U.S. Senator. It reinforces my concerns about him.

    My guess is that regular voters like the idea of somebody being incorruptible, but it’s a claim many candidates make about themselves. I suspect it’s more effective when a third party makes the claim like Sheila Simon did for Obama.

    Remember, the Sheila Simon ad connected the idea of challenging big money interests to campaign finance reform. Obama could bridge his work in the Illinois General Assembly to the idea he would work on the issue in the Senate.

    I fail to see how Hoffman’s ad bridges from what he’s accomplished to specifics he’s going to accomplish in the Senate. And I think this missing piece of the puzzle will keep the ad from moving regular voters.




20. - Will County Woman - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 9:50 am:

    I agree with previous comments about the Hoffman ad. It’s messaging just reminds me that he should not be running for the U.S. senate, but should be running for some other office that relates to the corruption and crime issues with which he has experience, as a former u.s. prosecutor and city inspector general. I don’t mean to pigeon hold him, but as a junior senator it is impossible for him to tackle D.C. lobbyist and powerbrokers. Senior senators don’t even concentrate on such things because that’s not the role of a senator. Too bad he doesn’t have the foreign policy/national security experience that Mark Kirk has. If Hoffman did he would be strong competition for Kirk.
    Based on substance I give the ad a C- (nothing he said really relates to the U.S. Senate).
    Based on asthetics, the ad gets an B. Mark Kirk would kill him in a debate and on the issues so, substance is all that really matters.

    The McKenna ad gets a B-. I don’t have a problem with the message or its veracity (read: if you weren’t bothered by the Spa Ad and didn’t complain about it, then come crying about about any McKenna attack ad on Quinn). whatever.




21. - Will County Woman - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 9:51 am:

    sorry that should be then don’t come crying about any mckenna attack ad on quinn.




22. - wordslinger - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 9:55 am:

    I really can’t figure out what Hoffman is doing. He appears to be holding the race at arm’s length, like he doesn’t want to get into the rough-and-tumble. You gotta sell it, man.




23. - Ravenswood Right Winger - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 9:57 am:

    Hoffman’s ad: Wearing a collared shirt and tie without a suit jacket remined me of Al Hofeld’s “common man” ad back in 1992.

    Also seemed like his face was off-center.




24. - David Jenkins - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 10:00 am:

    I think that McKenna is a Republican “outsider”, but not in the way he intended.

    As the Illinois Republican Party Chairman, he helped run the party into the ground while makind regular campaign donations to Democrats. Then when you consider his family’s ties to the Madigan & Getzendanner (MJM) law firm, for property tax representation, most Republicans are bound to consider him an “outsider” and not vote for him in the primary.




25. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 10:01 am:

    ===while makind regular campaign donations to Democrats===

    False. Learn how to read. That was his father.

    And stick to rating the ads.




26. - Obamas' Puppy - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 10:06 am:

    Hoffman-A fool and his money are soon parted.
    McKenna-Cheesy,Yes Effective,Yes




27. - Some Guy - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 10:23 am:

    The McKenna ad just sounds over the top and whiny with the overly-dramatic narrator INSISTING that ONLY Andy this, ONLY Andy that… and a bunch of vague promises like lower taxes/cut spending. Because that’s so simple and easy, hey, why didn’t WE think of that…. This is what happens when you split the spot in half, and spend half of it bashing the other guy; you run out of time for a REAL message except for “I’m not that guy”. “I’m not that guy” works fine if you’re running against a disgraced Blago, and that’s why he keeps going on about the hair… but I don’t think that’s working, because everybody knows just how much Blago hated Quinn and kept him out in the cold since the day after the first term began, and how that relationship only grew MORE strained over time. No, Quinn is not Blago, any more than Jim Ryan was George. McKenna’s whole strategy seems to be to lie or say nothing at all, and hope to be elected by mistake. Quinn has a lot of good will in the bank; some earned, some assumed. McKenna is banking that he can make hay off hate for Quinn as the incumbent, but that’s just not what surveys and polls show - People know Quinn got handed a HUGE mess out of the blue, that he was not a Blago stooge, and that he’s feeling his way thru really awful circumstances. You just don’t generate anti-incumbency hate out of that. Your better tactic is to say that the guy has turned out to be overwhelmed, and not up to the job that was thrown in his lap, not that he’s a liar or corrupt. You’re the new relief pitcher, warming up.

    Why Mckenna is wasting time on anti-Quinn spots in a primary beats me; he can’t fight Quinn anyway until he beats his Republican competitors in the primary, and he has yet to make a serious case for himself with republicans for the primary. Unless he assumes they forget the “outsider” line and automatically vote for him as an ex-party chairman? McKenna needs to spend more time building his case in debates and other earned media, not pretending he’s an ad executive.

    Hoffman’s ad is well-photographed, with a clean, non-ostentatious and modern feel that urban hipsters will find comfortable. His no-coat shirt and tie look implies a “regular guy” that is ready to go to work solving a problem. His eye contact with the lens however is very poor, and suggests on a nonverbal level that he hates doing this ad and/or doesn’t believe what he’s saying. Starting the ad with newspaper headlines is weaker than starting with his face; you’re asking TV viewers to READ, get real. Worse, it takes a little mental time to process those headlines and you’re not paying attention to Hoffman’s words for the first few seconds because of that.

    It truly is sad that the electorate gets the majority of their impressions from ads like this, which puts all the stress on how good and convincing an actor the candidate is, rather than if they actually have the skills for the job. We should be ashamed that we critique the candidates on their choice of neck tie or hairdo and don’t discuss the issues more, but this is the media-obsessed world we live in, where you win more on superficialities than on your merits.




28. - 10th Indy - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 10:25 am:

    McKenna ad - 8/10. It’s building a brand message that’s starting to stick. Culture of the Hair is catchy, funny, weird and memorable.

    Hoffman - 5 - same old, same old, message doesn’t fit the office and the blinking is crazy distracting.




29. - CircularFiringSquad - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 10:29 am:

    Remember that we learned from BlinkyJim “I Quit Before You Got Me” Edgar …..when he blinks he is lieing!




30. - shore - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 10:30 am:

    At least the 2 of them aren’t in krackow.

    I would be interested to hear from someone who actually does political advertising for a living whether the candidate talking straight into the camera ad for 30 seconds is more successful than say a voiceover like you see with mckenna or something else.

    I’m also wondering if there is a 2 track thing going on where most people are worried about losing their jobs and the political chattering class and insiders are worried about corruption. The candidates seem to think its about corruption.




31. - Joe from Joliet - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 10:35 am:

    McKenna will tell us the truth?

    Starting when?




32. - Get a haircut - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 10:56 am:

    The message is fine, but he manages to look younger and less confident than Alexi, which is good news for the Giannoulias camp, because Alexi carries himself better and is more, well, statesman-like. The blinking is super distracting, good call Rich.




33. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 11:08 am:

    I can’t rate McKenna’s “hair” ads. I think it’s a simple case of either liking or disliking them–nothing in between. It’ll be interesting to see how viewers respond.

    Hoffman’s ad is consistent with most of the comms he’s been putting out, including his “intro” vid. “Trust me, I’m ethical, I’m approachable, I’ll clean things up.” It’s a good message to send right now and I think that many will either not think about, or ignore, the fact that what he’s saying does not really align with the office.

    However, for the whole “trust me” thing to be effective, you really have to feel the trust as a viewer–and the blinking and “jerky” movements don’t support that. You get the sense he’s trying to hard to convince you–and it’s very uncomfortable for him. Same was true of his “intro” ad.

    5/10 for Hoffman.




34. - Downstate GOP Faithless - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 11:12 am:

    what did McKenna put behind this ad?




35. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 11:13 am:

    Sorry. Said “intro” ad. Meant to say “intro” vid.




36. - downstate hick - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 11:23 am:

    Neither add impresses me. McKenna’s add may hurt Quinn a little, but gets him no closer to the Republican nod. Hoffman’s add is just not going to change many minds. Tries to be sincere, but comes off as an amateur effort in MHO.




37. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 11:35 am:

    What’s with all the people who regularly use “add” for “ad”?




38. - Gregor - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 12:00 pm:

    >>>What’s with all the people who regularly use “add” for “ad”?




39. - Gregor - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 12:03 pm:

    I do not know, but I don’t like it Rich when you use “lede” for Lead or “graf” for “paragraph” You are at least more justified in that use, since it is a slang “term of art” used by newspapermen.




40. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 12:09 pm:

    Gregor, it’s slang, I know, but it’s an accepted usage. Add is not.




41. - just sayin' - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 12:36 pm:

    re McKenna ad - tired attempt at humor from a joke of a candidate.

    I predict McKenna spends the most, by far, and comes in a distant 4th again, like he did for senate in 2004. MAYBE he’s able to buy 3rd place this time. But still a loser.




42. - Will County Woman - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 12:46 pm:

    Agreed.
    And, I think even if McKenna loses at a distant fourth or more, he’ll somehow still come out okay in the end. ;)




43. - Louis G. Atsaves - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 12:50 pm:

    McKenna Ad: 8
    Hoffman Ad: 6

    Showing Quinn with Blagojevich hair is getting old. The quotes and the deficit that is still climbing are very effective.

    Hoffman sounded like a whiner. The blinking just makes him look unpolished which could be a plus in this campaign. But he sounds like a kid and could have used someone to do a voice over. Alexi is supposed to be too young, right?




44. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 1:05 pm:

    ===
    What’s with all the people who regularly use “add” for “ad”?
    ===

    Busted (WE, by you). You (D) obviously did not get the (exclusive R) email this (glorious R) morning. All Rs (WE, not you) are now to take ADDvantage of every opp to do a play (nicely together with other Rs) on words to remind other Rs (US, not you) to stop this in-fighting (OURs, not yours) and UNITE (good thing for US, not for you).

    All ADDs are to contain similar (R values are OUR values) messages whenever (everything is) possible (when WE, Rs, are united).




45. - syntax - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 2:20 pm:

    I actually think Hoffman’s AD was right on. He’s right about bankers BTW. Name one banker in the senate who isn’t dealing with issues related to ethics.




46. - laborguy - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 4:35 pm:

    If Hoffman thinks he is going to win this primary touting his incredibly weak reformer credentials then good luck to him. There will be one, and only one, issue that matters through the primary and general elections and that is JOBS baby! This guy has no credibilty talking about job creation or the economy. People in Illinois only care about corruption issues when the economy is doing well. Right now, that is a luxury most voters can’t afford. BTW running as an outsider that got all his money from the insurance industry? And how do you reform Illinois politics from Washington, DC? Try and explain that to the average voter.

    Issuing a report or two criticizing the Mayor does not a reformer make. Just my two cents for now.




47. - Whatwhat - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 5:06 pm:

    Hoffman seems $hifty. His eyes tell me everything I need to know about him. If I was his opponent I’d give him money to run the ad.




48. - Anonymous - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 5:41 pm:

    ===
    And how do you reform Illinois politics from Washington, DC?
    ===

    I always interpreted what he was saying as “he’s cleaned up IL; now he’s going to clean up DC”–not clean up IL from DC.




49. - Observational - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 8:02 pm:

    When Hoffman was an AUSA, he had really long hair, almost down to his upper back. It also looked like “product” was involved in effectuating this “look.”

    He looked ridiculous, but as we all know, with the federal judges, the U.S. Attorney’s office is omnipotent; so, no harm, no foul in that arena.

    That said, if you are blinking uncontrollably, zoom way out, use indirect focus and action shots.

    This ad was right up there with Edwin Eisendrath’s “Ed Wood” ad from 2006.

    Also, Alexi’s picture is in the Reader this week. He either does not know how to tie a proper knot or it is an adult clip-on. It looks he has stapled a dead salmon to his shirt. Check it out.

    Finally, I find it interesting how the Democratic candidates keep referring to the seat as “Barack Obama’s seat.”

    How far back do they want to go? It is Roland Burris’ seat now, and at one time, the illustrious Carol Moseley-Brown’s. What’s wrong with your sitting Senator, candidates? Candidates? Who is clamoring for the endorsement of the Junior Senator of Illinois?

    Mt guess is that the GOP would like to create headlines next year that proclaim: “GOP takes Obama’s Seat.”

    I think I answered my own question on that one. Never mind.

    Prediction: Kirk will lose in the primary regardless of the Tribune tries to publish his divorce records. Precedent has been set.




50. - Rich Miller - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 8:25 pm:

    Dude, you had me in the palm of your hand until that last graf.




51. - Just-your-average-Dem - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 10:02 pm:

    I watched Hoffman’s ad a couple times and it kinda grows on me… No frills. I guess they think people might be looking for the anti-Blago — even if he blinks a lot.




52. - Amalia - Wednesday, Dec 2, 09 @ 11:28 pm:

    not a bad ad. he does look younger than I thought, and thinner, but, still, not bad.

    he may be running for the Senate, but that’s not a reason to avoid the prosecutor image…..it is a time for truth and justice in all races on the card. this is also a marked contrast to slick,
    ethics-cloudy boy banker. it’s not like that candidate who ran for Water Rec and pushed her pro choice position. justice issues
    are related to the work. Durbin is on Justice, which votes on Judges. and there is lots of transparency to work on in D.C. as well as other places. I think that is a strong message for Hoffman.




53. - Northside Nelly - Thursday, Dec 3, 09 @ 5:34 am:

    I loved the Hoffman ad. So what if he blinks a bit? He’s not used to talking into a camera. Wouldn’t it be strange if he were. The message was great, so simple… He’s done some good things in IL now he needs our vote to get to Washington. I can’t remember the last time a political ad was so straightforward, so honest about what it’s trying to accomplish?




54. - Northside Nelly - Thursday, Dec 3, 09 @ 5:48 am:

    Sorry for the messy punctuation. I should never try to type before coffee. But I really think people are being unjustifiably harsh to Hoffman. He’s a very promising newcomer.

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