It was shocking enough late last week to hear that the California Chamber of Commerce pulled their TV ad off the air after a complaint from Jerry Brown.
More shocking still in the new Ad they’ve put up in its place.
The new Ad, which began running over the weekend, is a completely neutered ad which tells you to “Get the facts and decide for yourself” in the California gubernatorial race.
CalChamber still doesn’t get it. Voters want to know that business leaders in Sacramento are in tune with what’s happening on the ground, and they are thirsting more than ever for trustworthy leaders who can provide straight talk and trusted recommendations on who should lead the future of our state.
Oh, sure, CalChamber offers a fancy new “widget” on their website where you can plug in what issues are important to you, along with a special page where you can read the Candidate bios. I’m sure Joe Sixpack will get right to work on plowing through that information – just as soon as he’s finished holding down his job in an already tough economy, figuring out how’s he’s going to pay that stack of bills on his kitchen table, and juggling the carpool lane while trying to remember what time he (or is it his wife?) who is picking up the kids from soccer.
Voters shouldn’t even bother with the site. Both the TV ad and the website now feature Jerry Brown firmly in the pole position. He’s featured at the top left hand corner of the TV ad (any Media strategist will tell you that’s where you place the most important person, since the human eye scans visually from the top left side to the right), and he’s featured again at the top left hand side of the website comparison column. In fact, Steve Poizner isn’t even “above the fold” on that screen.
In years past, the Chamber served as the go-to leader who blazed the trail and kept us informed on important business issues and Job Killer bills in California; one who could be relied upon to tell us like it is.
But now? What the Chamber is saying with their new Ad is, quite simply, “You’re on your own.”