On Politics
BY RICHARD BORRECA
No winners so far
in the TV campaign
for governorIf television is the air war of modern politics, then Hawaii's two candidates for governor may have to win with foot soldiers.
Republican Linda Lingle started the saturation bombing campaign early in the year with clean-looking professional spots. As they started to roll out, critics said, the commercials began to both blend together and trigger the same response.
"Too slick," one veteran TV producer said. The commercials are expensive, shot on film, beautifully lit and well edited, but the overall impression is that the commercials simply aim to avoid making any mistakes. Nothing is risked in the commercials and nothing new is added.
"Sometimes if you do everything so right, the result is it feels packaged," said the consultant, who has managed several winning political campaigns and who asked to remain anonymous.
Viewers can sense it when they are being bought or when the campaign feels programmed.
Other advertising experts have praised Lingle's ads, especially her five-minute piece where viewers and voters finally learn something about Lingle's personal background. They meet her father and catch a glimpse of her childhood years, but even then, very little of her personal side is shared.
In Gov. Ben Cayetano's chaotic 1998 media campaign, which seemed to shift tactics and themes almost at whim, the one commercial that won big showed Cayetano tearing up as he talked about values. He had done the same thing four years earlier in his first gubernatorial campaign while talking about the travails of his early family. That passion is what is lacking in the Lingle campaign ads. When the commercial is over, someone has got to be crying, either the viewer or the candidate.
As much as Lingle is playing not to make a mistake, the Hirono television campaign is equally mystifying. Hirono started her campaign boasting of work done in the Legislature until she was dinged by several news outlets for puffing her resume. Her commercials then abruptly switched to black-and-white reminiscences of her childhood before slipping into a fairly good imitation of Lingle's brightly lit commercials.
"Her media looks ad hoc," my television consultant said.
The Hirono media campaign appears to lack a focus, while Lingle's seem almost too polished. Only a day after the primary, Lingle was out the door with a pre-produced spot showing her with running-mate James "Duke" Aiona; it took Hirono a week to get out a commercial with her primary opponents endorsing her.
"At this point, either side's media could lose," my consultant said. That would leave the victory to whomever has the best grass-roots campaign.
In Pentagon parlance, wars are won with foot soldiers, not planes.
Richard Borreca writes on politics every Sunday in the Star-Bulletin.
He can be reached at 525-8630 or by e-mail at rborreca@starbulletin.com.
