The election season’s campaign ads may be coming to an end, but six of its most unusual spots have already made a lasting impression. Republicans and Democrats spent a combined $11.6 billion on advertising, a record for a single cycle, according to the source article. The result was a mix of stunts, celebrity appearances and deliberately provocative humor—not, the article argues, a collection of meaningful cultural classics.
In North Carolina, state legislator Jennifer Balkcom’s ad featured her mother recounting how she shot an intruder who broke into her home. Balkcom praised her as a fighter, though the spot offered little explanation of how the story related to the candidate’s case for office.
Tennessee senator Marsha Blackburn, who is running for governor, used a Chinese restaurant setting to make a point about alleged Chinese purchases of farmland in the state. The ad showed her crushing fortune cookies while calling for a hunt for Communists. The article notes that China ranks ninth among foreign holders of Tennessee land, with Canada owning more. Blackburn also backed an AI video of herself rapping to Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” during the Super Bowl.
In Iowa, former president Barack Obama joined Democratic Senate candidate Josh Turek for a basketball game. The ad highlighted Turek’s skills and his connection to Obama, while revealing little about his policy positions. Turek, a former Paralympic gold medalist, was mounting a bid to flip the seat for Democrats.
Republican candidate Ashley Hinson, Turek’s opponent, chose a movie theater for her own spot. She described efforts to work across party lines as she handed snacks to an unseen person in another row. The ad ended with popcorn spilling onto her lap. Democrats disputed her account of collaborating with them on veterans’ benefits, while the article questioned the claims she made about working with Donald Trump on health care.
Texas Democrat James Talarico’s ad revisited an incident involving Republican attorney general Ken Paxton. In 2012, surveillance footage captured Paxton putting a $1,000 Montblanc pen left in a courthouse security tray into his pocket. Talarico’s campaign tracked down the pen’s owner, attorney Joe Joplin, who appeared in the ad endorsing Talarico. Its central question: “If Ken Paxton can steal a pen, what will he steal from you?”
Finally, California Republican candidate Steve Hilton appeared in a softly lit, suggestive spot built around the message “Just Try It.” Its double entendres culminated in the line “Now lick it,” referring to a mail-in ballot. The article describes the ad as possibly AI-generated and argues that its shameless approach seemed designed to attract attention, despite Hilton’s slim prospects of winning.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter.