Grading the Gabrieli ads

Published Apr 19 2006, 08:01 PM by Adam Reilly

So, two TV spots from the Wonkish One started running today. "Change" takes an Erroll Morris-esque tack, with Gabrieli looking directly at the camera and giving his spiel to voters (Massachusetts is stuck, he doesn't have all the answers but does have lots of ideas, etc.). Every few seconds, the screen goes black and a catch phrase we're supposed to remember about Gabrieli--"Solving Problems," "New Ideas," and later, in case we missed the point the first time, "Solves Problems...Gets Results"--appears on screen. Nice and basic.

At first, "Principal" feels disappointingly conventional after the stripped-down feel of "Change." As Mary Russo--Massachusetts principal of the year in '04!--talks about enlisting Gabrieli's help in setting up an after-school program, the guitar strumming kicks in, and you're like, "Oh boy, here comes the cheese-fest." But then, as Gabrieli talks about the high stakes of education today ("We have to think differently and smarter for the 21st Century, to give kids the kind of skills they need"), there's a kick-ass shot of bunch of kids sitting at their desks and looking back expectantly toward the camera. I know I'm getting carried away here, but the combo of Gabrieli's comments and this image totally rules. There's some more stuff toward the end about Chris Gabrieli and results, or something, but I couldn't stop thinking about those tots!

GRADE: A. Taken as a package, these two ads are terrific. They portray Gabrieli as a smart, humble, no-B.S. dude and play up his education credentials, which might be his best selling point. As an added plus, they're also quick and punchy.

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4 Comments

Marco said:

Adam, I gotta agree. I'm undecided in the race right now, but those ads were both terrific. Reminded me of Robert Reich's ads from four years ago: simple, straightforward, and inspiring-without-being-schmaltzy. Great stuff. I look forward to hearing more from Gabrieli.

April 20, 2006 6:37 PM
David said:

My short take: second ad is much better than the first (which didn't do much for me), but it's unacceptable that some of Gabrieli's words in the second ad are incomprehensible. More here: www.bluemassgroup.com/showDiary.do

April 21, 2006 2:54 AM
tony schinella said:

Grabrieli's ads over his three races have been pretty good actually. The 8th CD race painted him as a pretty conservative Democrat - advocating charter schools and other things that are considered No-nos in Mass. The Lt. Gov. race in 2002 stayed away from huge policy ideas and spoke more vaguely. I loved his spot which showed people didn't know who he was and he was lugging voter's groceries in order to get recognized. That was hilarious and really spoke to the difficulty of running for office with a fickle populace. Now these - again, stressing the need for someone with solutions without really getting into the specifics - seem to be tugging at the Mihos angle, which is good.

April 22, 2006 3:35 AM

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Grading the Gabrieli ads

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