So, this is interesting for a couple of reasons.
- Clearly, Berwick is going all-in on single payer/Medicare For All. It’s a good strategy. At this point, there isn’t time for a groundswell of support to materialize without some galvanizing issue behind it. In 2006, there wasn’t a particular issue that pushed Deval Patrick to the top; his rhetorical skill and personality played a bigger role than any single issue that I can recall. That isn’t going to happen for Berwick, so he needs a different approach. Of course it remains to be seen whether single payer is that issue, but it’s probably Berwick’s best shot.
- The point that health care is over 40% of the state budget is really important. If this video (or a similar one) gets boiled down to a 30-second TV ad, I’d suggest making sure that gets emphasized.
- Without making a big deal out of it, the ad appears to be set in a gay couple’s home. Nice touch.
- Acting is harder than it looks. Some of the line deliveries are a bit stilted, and Berwick needs to calm down his hands.
- The goofy line about playing the piano strikes me as superfluous. The video is already longer than it needs to be, and the line isn’t funny enough to be worth the time.
Your reactions?
Please share widely!
johntmay says
Agreed.
On #2, that needs to be repeated over and over. “Transparency” is not going to solve this problem.
Kosta Demos says
Very good to take affable tone about a serious topic – and it has good mnemonic take-aways on both health care and the candidate generally. But your points are well taken. I think snappier editing would make it more effective (would also improve gag at end, if kept). I give it A for effort, B+ for impact.
Vastly superior to other folks’ tired “fighting for you” and “Jobs creator” memes.
Kosta Demos says
In this town, everyone loves a politician with a nickname.
“Doc” Berwick could play quite well.
Gumby says
I’ve been calling him “Doctor B” but “Doc Berwick” sounds pretty good.
Kosta Demos says
to see what they used the child actors for…
lynpb says
I’m a strong Martha supporter but I have been trying to stay open to Berwick just in case. If this was the only thing I saw from him I would think it was a parody of an ad, like something from SNL.
drikeo says
Yet Berwick comes across as the guy making the case for single payer rather than the person who ought to be governor. I’d say the video makes the case for the idea of single payer, but not so much for the idea of Governor Berwick.
jconway says
His campaign seems to think the phrase ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ was really ‘if it ain’t workin’, don’t fix it’.
I think he loses rather than gains credibility by being in the doctors garb, this is the third ad he has on an issue that obviously hasn’t gained him any traction, and his delivery is still in an awkward monotone to the camera. I like the guy, would be voting for him if I could in the primary, but a lot of the momentum since the convention was lost due to self-inflicted mistakes.
Trickle up says
I didn’t like it at all for reasons others have described. And I felt, Oh he’s running for–doctor?
There’s an art to using cute as a key to unlock and explain—see Scortino’s great spot from that primary. Not easy, obviously.
Still maybe it helps him somehow. News coverage? It’s obviously a niche piece; what’s the audience?
jbrach2014 says
No one else thought it was funny?
jconway says
N/t
David says
nt
Trickle up says
The ad has a kind of self-depreciating, please-don’t-think-we’re-too-serious vibe. See (or rather hear) the music, for instance.
I don’t think this angle works very well for Berwick, but I see the joke as a continuation of that.
You’ll find this a lot in radio ads for commercial products and services, where humor is used to soften the pitch and make it more fun. It will start with an absurd situation (man is bolting his car to the ceiling to change the oil), a straight pitch (Why not take it to Joe’s Garage instead?), and inevitably a humorous closing reference (Man asks for a wrench to get the car down).
The piano joke is the wrench.