I had to chuckle at the line that “Jim Oberweis isn’t a career politician.” The only reason he isn’t is because he couldn’t win the 50 elections he was in prior to this most recent one.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:00 am:
Jiminy Crickets!
If that is a Durbin ad, I give it a B+.
My first thought was: “OMG, Oberweis is trying to inoculate himself. Did he oppose the Equal Pay Act? Is there a glass ceiling at Oberweis Dairy? Both??”
Whatever Oberweis is attempting to pre-empt, this ad merely opens the door. And it is terribly done. The actors could be robots, but then the script is so bad it is hard to blame them.
And yes: dated material.
If Obie had been promoting women in the 30’s, he’d be a civil rights pioneer. Supporting equality after the majority of states had adopted the ERA is not heroic…and the fact that Jim thinks it is noteworthy raises serious questions.
C’mon guys, quit with the little minding going on with this. It’s long for radio. There could be two women’s voices instead of one to maximize some impact. On the pass/fail scale, it’s definitely a pass. He’s telling people something different about himself and likely contrary to what they may have heard. Smart.
Very good concept, mediocre execution, but bound to be reasonably effective with people who still have an open mind or are capable of changing their mind. Having been burned by the “clever” badly received ads in his past, he’s being more careful. He’s learned something. Out of the blocks, good- not great. But giving it a D- or any poor grade says more about you than the ad. Smarten up.
==Out of the blocks, good- not great. But giving it a D- or any poor grade says more about you than the ad.==
Yeah, it says we didn’t like the ad. Is that a crime? What exactly does it say about us @A guy? I think I’m pretty smart. Sorry we don’t all agree with you. Maybe we’ll check with you next time so you can tell us how we should feel. I don’t want my thoughts to say something bad about me because you don’t agree with them.
And, by the way, I think Oberweis is doing 100 times better in this campaign than he has in the past. I don’t think he will win but it won’t be because he stuck his foot in his mouth this time. I just think the ad stunk.
We are asked to rate it - A Guy… -, I chose letter grades for my ratings, gave a clear and concise critique, and if Gentleman’s “C” is average, it ain’t.
You are like a student who blames the teacher for bad grades, lol
Jim’s binder has one woman in it. Ya think his polling is showing he’s not doing well with women?
With deft instincts like this, you can tell Obie has his finger on the pulse of what the people who make the family healthcare decisions (women) care about:
“Most of the residents in Illinois are concerned about health care,” Oberweis said [in Nov. 2013]. “And Mr. Durbin has been one of the biggest supporters of Obamacare.”
Political ads are frequently :30s and :15s. This is a tough theme to promote quickly, but worth a try at a :30 or 2 continuing themes. There are plenty of :30 ads in radio Slinger.
Demo,
Think whatever you want about the ad. You’re more fair than most. Just listen to the argument; the guy’s trying to portray attributes that are more softly appealing. I assume the testimonial is true, so it’s a different side of him coming out. Good for him. Your second comment is better and more like you. Quinn’s ads have been conceptually ridiculous. This one starts out with a very solid theme. It just doesn’t have great tempo. It’s good- it gets a message across. Not great- It lags a little too much to be as effective as it could be. Grades are subjective. It’s why I don’t. A “D” means close to failure where I went to school. In my focus group, I’d drop the highest and lowest input to get a real feel. An unbiased one.
OW,
Nevermind.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:36 am:
Wumpus -
I agree it is pre-emptive, just not sure it is effective.
Ads featuring women praising Oberweis for wanting to raise the minimum wage, talking about the difficulties of saving for college or paying for child care, would have been much, much, much better.
D. She should say her own name, first and last, so she doesn’t sound like a paid shill. Sounds like radio from the 80s. Durbin will barely even need to spend his money on his own race at this rate…
P.S. How many swing voters do you think are paying $6-7 for a malt at his stores? Seriously, got three kids, and the wife with you that’s 5 shakes, malts, whatever… $30… anyway…
Decent idea, but extremely poorly done. Needed the woman to ID herself for cred, and the music behind it is terrible. Agree a woman narrator would have been better, too. C- because it was so badly executed.
because hiring a woman in finance in 1980 was actually something so it’s a good anecdote and nice that she stayed in the job for 30 years. ( heck, in many industries right now there is an imbalance of hiring and treatment of women still grossly objectifies…tech industry big example of that…so a 1980 example strikes me as very good.)
but unless such a woman in a commercial needs to remain without a full name (sexual assault victims, for example) she should be named fully and not just seem like a prop. and hire a woman for a voice over. (note to those making such commercials—and I’m pleading to you too, Dems— please call up on Netflix the movie “In an World” from last year and learn about the world of voiceovers and sexism in a cute romantic comedy written and directed by and starring Lake Bell.)
but unless Oberweis has lots of these anecdotal stories, his record in public office on women and his opinions on issues of concern to women, will shine through the badly executed radio plays. and shine badly.
Both Obie and the Narrator were running out of breath trying to get in those long sentences, the piano music was distracting, and Gloria needs a last name.
Aside from that I thought it was splendid.
- Upon Further Review - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 12:32 pm:
C. I would have used a female voiceover for the introduction and ending. And I’m sure we will find out soon enough who Gloria is once the press follows up. Maybe this will give Oberweis some positive free media coming off this ad?
So far, Oberweis has exceeded my expectations and is not running his campaigns like he did in the past.
The people who comment on this website are “high information” voters. That ad was gearing towards the low information voter and “re-introducing” Oberweis. I give it a B. Yeah, it was hokey but… sometimes hokey can be effective. Does that mean he’s going to win the election? Probably not. But, don’t be surprised it Oberweis comes within 5 points of Durbin.
D
Too wordy
If “Gloria” spoke in bullet points, more effective IMO. “Jim did this: 1, 2, and 3. I support him because of them” Effective, and to the point. I honestly don’t remember all she said.
I was working in the Secretary of State’s office and was under-employed, without enough paperwork to process. But thanks to Jim’s forward thinking, I was able to make a solid career out of processing Jim’s many speeding tickets and handicapped parking violations over the years. Thanks, Jim!”
If Jim Oberweis wanted to show how much he promoted women in business, he should talk about how his ex-wife Elaine saved Oberweis Dairy from the brink of bankruptcy–but then he’d end up having to talk about how he wrecked the company.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 10:14 am:
“D”
Why?
“Gloria”. A woman give a testimonial, and never gives her own name, but a narrator IDs her as “Gloria”
Awful.
Jim Oberweis is not a career politician because Jim Oberweis lost 5 elections in a row.
You have to win elections to have a career in politics.
- Walker - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 10:15 am:
WooWoo! Hired and promoted a professional woman!
What a special guy!
Might have worked as an ad 30 years ago. (Obie’s mind-set?)
D-
- Demoralized - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 10:15 am:
Eh. Maybe a C. Nothing that spectacular.
I had to chuckle at the line that “Jim Oberweis isn’t a career politician.” The only reason he isn’t is because he couldn’t win the 50 elections he was in prior to this most recent one.
- Yipperdo - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 10:25 am:
Too long and too wordy.
- wordslinger - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 10:27 am:
It’s a good concept, the execution is bland.
Testimonials are better if you fully ID and flesh out the person — and they’re much better on TV where you can put a face to the story.
B-
- Just Observing - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 10:28 am:
He promoted one woman decades ago… wow, what a great guy! Ridiculous.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 10:32 am:
===…— and they’re much better on TV where you can put a face to the story.===
Yes. If this was a TV Ad, with her face, and her telling her story, it goes from a “D” to a “B-” for me.
Having a narrator tell me who the woman is in a radio Ad is a fail. Had she said in the Copy, “My name is Gloria R, and I… ”
Loads more credibility in a radio Ad.
The narrator IDing her makes it less. No “C” for a testimonial radio Ad that a narrator IDs the person speaking.
- Wumpus - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 10:40 am:
Wow, instead of taking cues from the idiots, JO is taking the lead from Rauner!
I am sure Gloria is appreciative beyond your mocking. How many women type people has Gloria helped get into this arena?
- Roadiepig - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 10:53 am:
Might be more impactful if it was a tv ad, but by not even introducing herself sorta diminishes the testimonial for me.
Btw- did he have to borrow Mitt Romney’s “Binders full of women” to find her?
- eh - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 10:53 am:
cheesy rates c-
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:00 am:
Jiminy Crickets!
If that is a Durbin ad, I give it a B+.
My first thought was: “OMG, Oberweis is trying to inoculate himself. Did he oppose the Equal Pay Act? Is there a glass ceiling at Oberweis Dairy? Both??”
Whatever Oberweis is attempting to pre-empt, this ad merely opens the door. And it is terribly done. The actors could be robots, but then the script is so bad it is hard to blame them.
And yes: dated material.
If Obie had been promoting women in the 30’s, he’d be a civil rights pioneer. Supporting equality after the majority of states had adopted the ERA is not heroic…and the fact that Jim thinks it is noteworthy raises serious questions.
- A guy... - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:07 am:
C’mon guys, quit with the little minding going on with this. It’s long for radio. There could be two women’s voices instead of one to maximize some impact. On the pass/fail scale, it’s definitely a pass. He’s telling people something different about himself and likely contrary to what they may have heard. Smart.
Very good concept, mediocre execution, but bound to be reasonably effective with people who still have an open mind or are capable of changing their mind. Having been burned by the “clever” badly received ads in his past, he’s being more careful. He’s learned something. Out of the blocks, good- not great. But giving it a D- or any poor grade says more about you than the ad. Smarten up.
- Demoralized - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:11 am:
==Out of the blocks, good- not great. But giving it a D- or any poor grade says more about you than the ad.==
Yeah, it says we didn’t like the ad. Is that a crime? What exactly does it say about us @A guy? I think I’m pretty smart. Sorry we don’t all agree with you. Maybe we’ll check with you next time so you can tell us how we should feel. I don’t want my thoughts to say something bad about me because you don’t agree with them.
- Demoralized - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:14 am:
And, by the way, I think Oberweis is doing 100 times better in this campaign than he has in the past. I don’t think he will win but it won’t be because he stuck his foot in his mouth this time. I just think the ad stunk.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:16 am:
We are asked to rate it - A Guy… -, I chose letter grades for my ratings, gave a clear and concise critique, and if Gentleman’s “C” is average, it ain’t.
You are like a student who blames the teacher for bad grades, lol
- wordslinger - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:22 am:
–It’s long for radio.–
It’s 60 seconds. That’s standard.
- Willie Stark - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:27 am:
Jim’s binder has one woman in it. Ya think his polling is showing he’s not doing well with women?
With deft instincts like this, you can tell Obie has his finger on the pulse of what the people who make the family healthcare decisions (women) care about:
“Most of the residents in Illinois are concerned about health care,” Oberweis said [in Nov. 2013]. “And Mr. Durbin has been one of the biggest supporters of Obamacare.”
Preach it, Jim (and Gloria)!
- Wumpus - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:27 am:
Nice premptive ad before the parakeets squawk on about a war on women
B -
- farfrompuken - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:31 am:
The last half of the ad sounded like Oberweis speaking in third person. Goofy
- VanillaMan - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:31 am:
Oberweis is confirming that a man whose career is based on milk, cannot be anti-woman as well.
Win or lose, Jim is rehabilitating his image with this campaign.
- A guy... - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:34 am:
=== wordslinger - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:22 am:
–It’s long for radio.–
It’s 60 seconds. That’s standard.===
Political ads are frequently :30s and :15s. This is a tough theme to promote quickly, but worth a try at a :30 or 2 continuing themes. There are plenty of :30 ads in radio Slinger.
Demo,
Think whatever you want about the ad. You’re more fair than most. Just listen to the argument; the guy’s trying to portray attributes that are more softly appealing. I assume the testimonial is true, so it’s a different side of him coming out. Good for him. Your second comment is better and more like you. Quinn’s ads have been conceptually ridiculous. This one starts out with a very solid theme. It just doesn’t have great tempo. It’s good- it gets a message across. Not great- It lags a little too much to be as effective as it could be. Grades are subjective. It’s why I don’t. A “D” means close to failure where I went to school. In my focus group, I’d drop the highest and lowest input to get a real feel. An unbiased one.
OW,
Nevermind.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:36 am:
Wumpus -
I agree it is pre-emptive, just not sure it is effective.
Ads featuring women praising Oberweis for wanting to raise the minimum wage, talking about the difficulties of saving for college or paying for child care, would have been much, much, much better.
- mail guy - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:37 am:
D. She should say her own name, first and last, so she doesn’t sound like a paid shill. Sounds like radio from the 80s. Durbin will barely even need to spend his money on his own race at this rate…
P.S. How many swing voters do you think are paying $6-7 for a malt at his stores? Seriously, got three kids, and the wife with you that’s 5 shakes, malts, whatever… $30… anyway…
- Amuzing Myself - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:43 am:
Decent idea, but extremely poorly done. Needed the woman to ID herself for cred, and the music behind it is terrible. Agree a woman narrator would have been better, too. C- because it was so badly executed.
- 47th Ward - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:44 am:
And her name is G-L-O-R-I-yi yi yi.
G.L.O.R.I.A.
- Norseman - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:44 am:
Having been raised on Oberweis milk, it is delicious. It’s nice to have a family business.
- wordslinger - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:45 am:
–How many swing voters do you think are paying $6-7 for a malt at his stores? –
A $5 shake? That’s just milk and ice cream, they don’t put bourbon in it or nothing?
- Amalia - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 11:57 am:
C, mainly for execution.
because hiring a woman in finance in 1980 was actually something so it’s a good anecdote and nice that she stayed in the job for 30 years. ( heck, in many industries right now there is an imbalance of hiring and treatment of women still grossly objectifies…tech industry big example of that…so a 1980 example strikes me as very good.)
but unless such a woman in a commercial needs to remain without a full name (sexual assault victims, for example) she should be named fully and not just seem like a prop. and hire a woman for a voice over. (note to those making such commercials—and I’m pleading to you too, Dems— please call up on Netflix the movie “In an World” from last year and learn about the world of voiceovers and sexism in a cute romantic comedy written and directed by and starring Lake Bell.)
but unless Oberweis has lots of these anecdotal stories, his record in public office on women and his opinions on issues of concern to women, will shine through the badly executed radio plays. and shine badly.
- Arthur Andersen - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 12:17 pm:
C.
Barely.
Both Obie and the Narrator were running out of breath trying to get in those long sentences, the piano music was distracting, and Gloria needs a last name.
Aside from that I thought it was splendid.
- Upon Further Review - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 12:32 pm:
C- at best. Completely forgettable.
- Louis G. Atsaves - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 12:43 pm:
C. I would have used a female voiceover for the introduction and ending. And I’m sure we will find out soon enough who Gloria is once the press follows up. Maybe this will give Oberweis some positive free media coming off this ad?
So far, Oberweis has exceeded my expectations and is not running his campaigns like he did in the past.
- Steve - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 12:49 pm:
The people who comment on this website are “high information” voters. That ad was gearing towards the low information voter and “re-introducing” Oberweis. I give it a B. Yeah, it was hokey but… sometimes hokey can be effective. Does that mean he’s going to win the election? Probably not. But, don’t be surprised it Oberweis comes within 5 points of Durbin.
- LisleMike - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 12:51 pm:
D
Too wordy
If “Gloria” spoke in bullet points, more effective IMO. “Jim did this: 1, 2, and 3. I support him because of them” Effective, and to the point. I honestly don’t remember all she said.
- Newsclown - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 12:51 pm:
“My name is, um, Betty. Yes, that’s it. Betty.
I was working in the Secretary of State’s office and was under-employed, without enough paperwork to process. But thanks to Jim’s forward thinking, I was able to make a solid career out of processing Jim’s many speeding tickets and handicapped parking violations over the years. Thanks, Jim!”
- Mighty M. Mouse - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 5:52 pm:
Oberweis once hired a woman who really appreciates it. That’s nice. So how many times in a row must he lose before he gets the message? Is six enough?
- Hit or Miss - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 6:45 pm:
The ad is nice as far as it goes, but that is not very far. As a listener I need more reason to vote for home.
- Precinct Captain - Monday, Jun 9, 14 @ 7:29 pm:
If Jim Oberweis wanted to show how much he promoted women in business, he should talk about how his ex-wife Elaine saved Oberweis Dairy from the brink of bankruptcy–but then he’d end up having to talk about how he wrecked the company.