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'Pajama Boy' on Obamacare: Will Millennials hear a grownup in a onesie?

'Pajama boy' is going viral, but perhaps not the way its creators, a political nonprofit with ties to President Obama, intended. Millennials may not be as ironic as the ad meisters think they are.

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This screenshot from President Obama's Twitter feed shows the Obamacare ad that has gone viral Wednesday.

Have you heard about 鈥淧ajama Boy鈥? He鈥檚 in by a political nonprofit associated with President Obama, wearing what appears to be a plaid onesie while cradling a hot beverage and looking to one side through arched eyebrows.

The point of the ad is to promote Obamacare among young adults. 鈥淲ear pajamas. Drink hot chocolate. Talk about getting health insurance,鈥 says the ad copy.

The tweet : 鈥淗ow do you plan to spend the cold days of December?鈥 It includes a link to a website from the group, Organizing for Action, that includes information on how to talk to family members over the holidays about signing up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Conservatives have had lots of hilarity with this ad Wednesday, poking at everything from the guy鈥檚 glasses and beverage choice to what some charge is his lack of traditional masculinity.

鈥淎 doofus in a plaid onesie drinking hot chocolate 鈥 is this really how the Obama administration pictures its supporters?鈥 on the right-leaning "Powerline" blog.

Then, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took a whack at pajama boy .

Even liberals, who defend the ad overall, think its particular choice of image could be improved.

鈥淎dmittedly, the guy in the photo does look a little silly. That鈥檚 what happens when you wear a onesie!鈥 on the Salon site.

But we鈥檝e got a question that鈥檚 more prosaic. What鈥檚 the idea here? How can this, you know, work?

The Obama administration is keen to get young adults 鈥 the so-called "young invincibles" 鈥 to sign up for Obamacare, of course. Younger people have generally lower health-care costs, and the revenue from their premiums is needed to offset the higher costs incurred by older beneficiaries.

And we get that this ad is meant to be ironic. At least, we think it鈥檚 meant to be ironic. That comes across more clearly in where 鈥淧ajama Boy鈥 is reclining in a leather sofa wearing a Christmas sweater and holiday socks. 鈥淎nd a Happy New Year with health insurance鈥 says the ad鈥檚 copy.

But here鈥檚 the problem: not that many young adults are ironic, in our experience. Many of the ones that are, are also highly educated and live in urban areas, and are exactly the sort of high-information voters who already know all about the Affordable Care Act鈥檚 requirement that individuals buy health insurance.

Plus, true hipsters are likely making fun of this guy. Have you seen hipsters lately? Lots of them wear beards. They look Amish.

Maybe the outlandishness of the portrayal is supposed to make the photo go viral and spread the word by sheer repetition, as if it were a funny cat gif imbued with a serious message. If so, mission accomplished!

However, to us it seems like lots of the advertising aimed at young adults on health care from both sides is condescending. There are from ProgressNow Colorado, which use frat boy images to push the idea that young adults need health care to pay for injuries incurred while drinking, for instance.

On the other side of the issue, there are the infamous 鈥淐reepy Uncle Sam鈥 ads, which use a big-head Uncle Sam figure to try and convince young adults that getting insurance through the government is a bad idea.

The actors in these ads are mid-20s. That鈥檚 an age where you can be a captain in the Army, or a foreman on a contracting crew, or a physics teacher in a big high school. To many Millennials, ads pushing a serious subject that also feature keg stands or a guy in a scary costume may not connect.

鈥淭he problem with these campaigns 鈥 with all the Invincible-targeted ads in the Obamacare muddle, actually 鈥 is twofold. First they don鈥檛 inform all that much.... Second, there鈥檚 very little respect for the intended audience,鈥 wrote the Atlantic Wire鈥檚 Alex Edelman of the 鈥渂rosurance鈥 and 鈥淐reepy Uncle Sam鈥 campaigns in November.

鈥淧ajama Boy鈥 might not be as far up the condescension scale. It鈥檚 still kind of weird. On Buzzfeed, that the ambitious young folks in politics that get put in charge of youth outreach efforts don鈥檛 really understand their generational peers. They鈥檙e in politics, after all.

鈥淚s there any battle in contemporary politics being waged with more indignity and less prowess than the tug-of-war for twentysomethings over Obamacare?鈥 Mr. Coppins writes.

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