By Dan Kennedy • The press, politics, technology, culture and other passions

The missing mayor

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGqikIrNKw4&w=425&h=344]

Joel Brown calls a television commercial put out by Boston Mayor Tom Menino’s re-election campaign, featuring his empty desk, “a terrible spot” and — with a bit of rewriting — “an excellent ad for one of his opponents.”

Adam Gaffin adds: “Maybe this is what happened to Curley’s desk.”

Previous

A new-media lesson from an old newspaper

Next

“You seem to be in denial”

6 Comments

  1. George Williams

    Jow Brown is right about it being a crappy ad but I don’t see how the competition can use it against him.

  2. How can the competition use the ad against him? Very simple: Take a photo of an empty desk and chair in front of the Filene’s Hole.

  3. Photoshop would do the trick.

  4. Actually, I disagree. I think it is pretty creative. It’s cute. It tells the Menino’s side of the story. I mean, what more can you say about the guy? The only problem I see with the ad is that it isn’t really accurate – Menino and his crew do a lot outside of the public process, both good and bad. It’s the bad stuff that forced many of us to leave the city …

    Gaffin makes a good point above. Another one? Use the chair and show it surrounded by the people who have influenced Menino over the years – developers, contractors, special interests, etc. … oh, but if you’re in the race for mayor right now you can’t be critical of the mayor this way because you’re probably taking money from those same interests …
    Or, show the empty desk in failing schools, crime areas, vacant homes and businesses boarded up, blight, the hole at Filene’s, etc.

  5. Michael Pahre

    They forgot to put the “No Whining” sign on the desk.

  6. Frank Smith

    Where is Menino? He sure isn’t sitting behind closed doors. My guess is that he was bust that day – in a closed-door meeting probably!

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén