Method to the madness of Carly Fiorina's 'demon sheep' campaign ad?
Is Carly Fiorina鈥檚 鈥渄emon sheep鈥� political attack ad really that bad?
In case you haven鈥檛 heard, Ms. Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and ex-John McCain economic adviser, is running for the US Senate in California. Earlier this week her campaign released an ad that depicts former US Rep. Tom Campbell, an opponent in the GOP primary, as a glowing-eyed, demonic wolf in sheep鈥檚 clothing.
Initial reviews were scathing, including, we admit, ours. And let鈥檚 be honest: The ad really is a cargo ship full of crazy. Words like 鈥減urity鈥� and 鈥減iety鈥� flash scarily on screen, while a demon sheep falls from a Greek pedestal. Representative Campbell鈥檚 tax record is mentioned, and then the demon sheep reappears, this time as an actor wearing what appears to be Sonny Bono鈥檚 old sheepskin vest.
The point of the thing is to label Campbell as a FCINO 鈥� Fiscal Conservative in Name Only. But even to say that the ad has 鈥渁 point鈥� is to imply that it has narrative coherence. Which it doesn鈥檛.
Yipee, says the Campbell camp
Campbell鈥檚 campaign is gleeful.
鈥淐arly Fiorina鈥檚 campaign is in full Mutton Meltdown [sic], with an increasingly bizarre fixation on farm animals,鈥� said Campbell spokesman James Fisfis in a statement.
In politics, it's not a good sign when your opponent is directing attention to your ads 鈥� particularly if they attack him by name. But is the Fiorina camp being crazy like a, uh, fox?
Maybe the ad is working. Fiorina has received loads of free media coverage that at least mentions her claim that Campbell is a false fiscal conservative. In a GOP primary, that鈥檚 a tough charge. And polls show that Fiorina may be behind Campbell at this point, meaning that she needs to do something to shake up the race.
For now, the Fiorina campaign is unrepentant.
鈥淟ook, what I like about the ad is first, it鈥檚 funny, but it鈥檚 also factually correct,鈥� said Fiorina Thursday in response to the controversy.
Stand by for more
鈥淔actually correct鈥� and 鈥渄emon sheep鈥� may be two phrases you never thought you鈥檇 see connected. But Fiorina aides promised more such outrageous ads in comings weeks.
Republican media consultant Fred Davis is the man who produced the ad. He also made the 2008 John McCain 鈥淐eleb鈥� ad, which compared Barack Obama with Paris Hilton in an attempt to turn Mr. Obama's celebrity status against him.
That one was also widely covered, and many pros felt it was effective.
Would it be churlish to point out that McCain lost that election?
----
Follow us on .
