Political ads hit MTV, Comedy Central

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 7/31/8 | Joe Garofoli

[SmithL]

A national political ad appeared on Comedy Central TV for the first time Wednesday night. Why hasn't that happened before? Because nobody thought voters were watching.

But public perception of the channel, the home of such shows as "South Park," has changed as "The Colbert Report" and "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" have become must-stops for major political players and the places where many younger, well-informed voters get their news. GOP candidate Sen. John McCain has made 14 appearances on "The Daily Show," Democratic Sen. Barack Obama, three.

With that in mind, the online hub MoveOn sponsored a 30-second pro-Obama spot on MTV on Tuesday and on Comedy Central Wednesday night. It followed an anti-Obama ad broadcast on MTV last week that was paid for by the conservative group Let Freedom Ring. That political ad was the first ever to appear on MTV. The ads are a sign that the opposing sides are trying to court younger voters in unprecedented ways.

The median age of Comedy Central's overall viewership, 29, is about half that of the typical viewer of network news shows. The median age for MTV is even younger, at 22. Political analysts caution, however, that running a couple of humorous TV ads alone won't win over younger voters.

"The conventional wisdom is that sarcasm plays well with young voters, but that's not completely true," said Peter Levine, the director of CIRCLE, a nonpartisan Tufts University think tank that analyzes youth voting behavior. "The young person who is following the race is concerned about issues. So I'd bet that a serious issue ad that addresses the issues they're concerned about would play better than a joke ad."

Ridicule tactics

Reaching young voters through humor was the intent behind the ad created by Let Freedom Ring, a conservative independent political group...

[SmithL]

- LET FREEDOM RING'S ANTI-OBAMA AD: Let Freedom Ring, a conservative organization, played an ad on MTV last week that ridiculed Democratic Sen. Barack Obama for allegedly taking two positions on several issues. The nonpartisan think tank Politifact.com found the ad's charges that Obama held multiple positions on the Iraq war to be false.

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- MOVEON'S PRO-OBAMA AD IN RESPONSE: The liberal organization MoveOn bought time on MTV and Comedy Central this week for an ad that spoofed public service ads of the 1980s by talking about how hope is back. "This is your brain," a young woman says, holding an egg. "And this is your brain on hope," a young man finishes, holding a chick. The last few seconds are a screen shot of "Obama '08."

[RockinRight]

After the ad ran, MoveOn sent a note to its members saying it was "outrageous" that the first "political ad that millions of young people will see is a negative attack on Barack Obama. The Republicans' strategy is clear: Kill the hope that's brought millions of new young voters out of the woodwork."

I call it "introducing these young voters to a concept called reality."

[KoRn]

Damn.

Now we can’t even watch South Park in peace....

[KarlInOhio]

- MOVEON'S PRO-OBAMA AD IN RESPONSE: ... "This is your brain," a young woman says, holding an egg. "And this is your brain on hope," a young man finishes, holding a chick. The last few seconds are a screen shot of "Obama '08."

And here's your hope in a few weeks with a side order of biscuits.

[KansasGirl]

But public perception of the channel, the home of such shows as "South Park," has changed as "The Colbert Report" and "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" have become must-stops for major political players and the places where many younger, well-informed voters get their news.

Huh? How can you be well-informed if you are getting your news from Jon Stewart and Colbert?!???????

[KansasGirl]

The nonpartisan think tank Politifact.com found the ad's charges that Obama held multiple positions on the Iraq war to be false.

Huh?

[wildbill]

You want funny conservative humor? go to Red State Update

http://www.redstateupdate.com/

[6SJ7]

And here's your hope in a few weeks with a side order of biscuits.

Now that's funny!

[mylife]

What a stupid ad

[Shermy]

We are the smart ones. This chick proves it.

[sergeantdave]

“..places where many younger, well-informed voters get their news...”

This is meant to be a laugh line, right?