The Buzz is Busted

MoveOn's 'Betray Us' ad a smart move - Andrew Rasiej and Micah L. Sifry - Politico.com

The above article by Andrew Rasiej and Micah L. Sifry is a great discussion of just how ad campaigns, like MoveOn's, can be successful even if they are outrageous. Indeed, the outrageousness is one key to their success. It gives people something to talk about and viral campaign dies if people don't talk about it.

"With rare exceptions, the 2008 presidential campaigns have ignored this basic rule, which was true even before the Internet, and which matters even more now.

The presidential campaigns just aren’t giving their supporters, or the wider public, very much to do or talk about.

They’re all playing it safe, using the new tools of the Web at a fraction of their real capacity. It’s no wonder they’ve given us so little to talk about."

Few campaigns have managed to generate significant buzz because, for the most part, they are playing it safe. The occasional noteworthy event (examples given in the above article) are to infrequent to sustain the buzz that the campaigns need to elevate their game. Thus the 2008 campaign feels like it is primarily running on momentum (which is why Hillary is ahead).