There is nothing wrong with attack ads: Trump's first attack ad against Hillary Clinton was creative, original, imaginative - it included Jihadi John, a barking Hillary Clinton and a cackling Putin. It promptly went viral. Hillary's retort was basically a duller version of the original Trump ad; it was ok although Hillary's SuperPAC will have to do much better to keep the entertainment level on par.
However, when a conservative, anti-Trump group decided to run Facebook ads which showcased naked photos of Melania Trump, we wonder: what were they thinking?
According to Buzzfeed, with Tuesday’s presidential primary contests in Utah and Arizona just one day away, the anti-trumpers are running Facebook ads aimed at rallying Mormon voters against the billionaire frontrunner. Not surprisingly following Mitt Romney's relentless bashing of Trump, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints - a solidly Republican demographic in most elections - have shown a uniquely strong aversion to Donald Trump this year. According to a poll released over the weekend shows Trump running a far-distant third in Utah, garnering just 11% of the vote. And a new Deseret News/KSL poll shows Trump losing Utah, one of the reddest states in the country, to both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders in the general election.
Ok, so Trump is going to lose Utah. Where it gets strange, however, is that Liz Mair - a Republican strategist whose anti-Trump super PAC Make America Awesome launched a Facebook anti-Trump campaign last week, said each ad is expected to reach around 10,000 Mormons of voting age a day. The goal is twofold: increase turnout among LDS voters, and urge them to strategically consolidate around Ted Cruz, who is close to the 50% winner-take-all threshold in Utah.
Mair said this is the first time the group has run ads urging voters to back a specific candidate. In Utah and Arizona, polls show Cruz with a much better chance than John Kasich of beating Trump. And Mair, who has Mormon family members, believes she could bring some expertise in the effort to court LDS voters.
“We think the Cruz campaign has turned evangelical outreach into something of a fine art,” Mair said. “We’re not so sure he has LDS outreach locked down, though, and this is an area where we have a little bit of experience and knowledge over and above some Republican operatives, so it’s something we’ve decided to delve into for these contests, at least.”
To achieve its anti-Trump goals, the group is running three ads:
- one that features Mitt Romney,
- one that emphasizes Trump’s past support for pro-choice policies,
- a third that shows Melania Trump posing nude.
The Melania ad, which is by far the most provocative, invites viewers to meet “your next First Lady.” Mair said that one is being promoted on Instagram as well, but only to LDS women.
It is also the one that makes us wonder just what Mair et al were thinking: imagine if someone were to show naked photos of one of the other potential first ladies (or of Bill Clinton for that matter) - the media response would be loud, instant and piercing.
But the real question is just how badly will this approach backfire: it may come as a surprise to the organizers, but showing a naked Melania Trump, a successful, multi-lingual supermodel and undoubtedly the most attractive first lady America would ever have, is not exactly an attack ad, the moment men end up seeing the ad.
Here are the ads in question:
Romney
Pro-choice
And Melania naked
If anything, this ad could lead to a surprising last minute surge for Trump. And yes, if the democrats (and non-Trump republicans) want to desperately lose the national election, they should certainly show more naked photos of Melania Trump on social networks and/or TV.
Source: Make America Awesome