44 Comments - Nick - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 9:45 am: Irvin really wants us to know that he’s not scared and in fact scares others - ;) - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 9:45 am: What a stupid ad, Alexi. Wholly unoriginal, and maybe next time look at the camera too bud. I can’t believe those two are all we have to offer for this race. pathetic. - Fav Human - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 9:46 am: When I watch a video on youtube, 95% of the time, the first commercial is either Pritzker or Irvin. The first Irvin commercial I’ve seen. I like it, it’s a good intro and hits his points well. The JB commercial is different, and much better, than his youtube commercials. It explains “Why do I care” well. The youtube one touts the budget, but doesn’t say what it means to me. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 9:49 am: Here I thought I’d only have the “in-flight” movie for entertainment. I guess, to the Proft ad… If your angry, in-law uncle had the ability to make an ad that your favorite aunt couldn’t veto, that would be the Proft ad. It’s says “stuff”, it has cites, it reinforces “biases”, it’s not much to look at… It’s a C+, maybe a B+ to its racially provoked audience. - SpiDem - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 9:51 am: That Proft ad is pure red meat, and if they put serious cash behind it downstate, it could be devastating for Irvin. More than half the primary vote is downstate in the GOP, and that ad, gross as it is with the race baiting, etc, will be extremely effective. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 9:52 am: To Rabine… ? It’s his weird flex to his own story I suppose, but it doesn’t do much to make me interested to his argument to lead Illinois. It’s a C-… still a bit confusing to his intentions - Three Dimensional Checkers - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 9:54 am: Solid ad from Alexi. Not sure about him as a candidate, but the ad is relatable and generates positive feelings, which is the best one can do. - Amalia - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 9:54 am: Republican ads - I can’t tell so much what affects them but I do know that people love watching things get smashed. Pritzker ad is a B. Alexi, still with the kids? Like those are the only people who will listen to him ? and in this one they don’t. weird. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 9:58 am: Bailey ad? It’s a “benign B”. Nothing stands out, nothing pops, nothing makes a splash. Boiler-plate boring. It’s a C+ ad - Out Here In The Middle - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 10:01 am: ==Irvin really wants us to know that he’s not scared== Except of reporters & public debates! - Torco Sign - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 10:03 am: The Irvin ad was not as strong. The anti-Irvin ad was hard. Really hard, even if we all know what’s behind it. Alexi’s ad was too cute for its own good. The punchline wasn’t funny enough to undermine what should be a serious message. Just have him talking to the camera and end it there. Rabine’s ad was, to put it nicely, lacking something. Bailey’s ad was OK. As good or better than Irvin’s ad, not as good as the anti-Irvin one. But since campaign needs to do something on its own, this will suffice. - Cheryl44 - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 10:04 am: So Gary Rabine is crazy. That’s what I learned from his ad. I’ve seen a couple Irvine ads because his people buy ads on WLS tv that run during “Inside Edition,” which comes on here right before “Jeopardy” so I always catch the last few minutes of it. He doesn’t scare me. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 10:05 am: Irvin ad? It’s the Z playbook I guess… always “fightin’ someone”, alswsys a twinge angry, a bit of a chip on a shoulder, and the lack of a connection to warmth. It’s a B-, it reinforces the “angry fighter” that is this candidate Irvin. - Montrose - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 10:07 am: I think the ALexi ad is great. There is so much noise, you need something that is memorable. It does a great job. Irvin - “I am not afraid of Pritzker’s money because I have Griffin’s money.” - Montrose - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 10:11 am: On the anti-Irvin ad - It’s not a dog whistle, it’s a bullhorn. - Donnie Elgin - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 10:15 am: Irvin’s ad is a solid B appeals to the GOP base and his crime/corruption-fighting message will work with some undecided JB’s budget/gas/grocery tax message is a double-edged sword - sure there will be some savings - but the savings were not quantified, so sort of a weak message. One can also point out that the taxes that he is suspending were approved primarily with Dem votes and they will return in the future. C+ at best. - Arsenal - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 10:16 am: Irvin- this is better than the last ad, but he’s still mad at me and talking in a dark room. Offputting, and I don’t think the fact that his message is shifting to “only I can win” is great. Proft- Really amatuerish, and not a lot of money behind it. Weak. Alexi- OK, actually that’s pretty funny. Pritzker- Nice work putting the budget into human terms. Not gonna be a game changer, but he doesn’t want the game to change RN. Rabine- The heavy equipment and smashing things is fun. It’s kinda Rauner-esque, but Rauner’s ads worked in ‘14, so maybe? Bailey- Kinda amateurish, too. Probably effective with his kind of people, but I don’t know if this can grow his audience. Also, Bailey is just no kind of actor, lol. - Dupage Mom - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 10:16 am: Stephanie Trussel’s ad is great. Moms will like this. - TheInvisibleMan - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 10:19 am: Irvin - D - Nothing special, he almost seems insecure and overcompensating. Does not portray optimism. Alexi - B - good finish in resetting/ending the emotional component with children and a chuckle. Pritzker - B - JBs media team has done a good job portraying a sense of listening, instead of a sense of telling. They really stepped up and seemed to have learned some lessons from failing to properly message the progressive tax proposal. Rabine - F - Showing images of toxic and polluting electronics being broken and driven into the bare ground - yikes. Bailey - F - just a personal thing, but I can’t hear the name “Trussell” without immediately thinking of comedian Duncan Trussell. And it always causes me to laugh when contrasted with the images of Darren Bailey. - Arsenal - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 10:22 am: My big thing is just who’s really going to see these? Those Proft and Rabine ads don’t have much moolah behind them. - Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 10:29 am: Magic beans of cutting taxes and funding the police aside, the Trussel ad is touching, showing a human and decent side of Bailey. Very good ad. A- Thought the Proft PAC ad was the DGA doing a flank attack about a week ago, at first sight. It’s not just JB/DGA attacking Irvin on the right flank, but actual patriots who’ve walked the walk for a long time. Rated A- (could have been harsher for that crowd). After Rauner and betrayal on abortion, not hard to understand the anger at another RINO foisted on the base. - May Soon Be Required - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 10:37 am: It saddens me this is the best we have to offer. - Arsenal - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 10:38 am: ==One can also point out that the taxes that he is suspending were approved primarily with Dem votes and they will return in the future.== Another example of “The ad is behind because it doesn’t criticize the candidate who paid for it”. That’s not what ads do. Let’s demonstrate: “Irvin’s ad is a double-edged sword because one could point out that he’s a defense attorney that supported the SAFE-T Act and he has his own Madigan-esque pay-to-play issue.” The problem, in both cases, is that *no one will point that out in the context of the ad*. There’s no real-time fact-checking of political ads. So, articulating the things they leave out, that might be interesting, but most of the time, the voters aren’t going to know that stuff, so it doesn’t really impact how effective the ads are. - Steve Rogers - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 10:38 am: If Rabine’s ads were drinking games and we take a shot whenever he makes a pun about paving, we’ll all be wasted before the 30 second ad ends. - zatoichi - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 11:01 am: Billionare money, Madigan, ..fight for.., cute kid, you trust that guy?, tough on.., hard hat, tying shoes, I am the one who… Grateful these ads are just 30 seconds long. Quick click on DVR button or scan channels. None of them memorable. - ArchPundit - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 11:17 am: —Proft- Really amatuerish, and not a lot of money behind it. Weak. That’s the deal–give Proft money–he’ll half way do something and keep the rest. He really would make a great Ferengi - Two Thumbs UP - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 11:37 am: Alexi’s ad is cheesy but memorable. The message is excellent. I give it a B+. Excited to see Anna’s comeback: “But his dad’s bank 15 years ago. Wah!” - ste_with_a_v_en - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 11:58 am: -That’s the deal–give Proft money–he’ll halfway do something and keep the rest.- Richard Uihlein “I am ready to get hurt again” - Rudy’s teeth - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 12:02 pm: Rabine D rating Rabine’s spot is more a commercial for Demolition Derby than for the governor’s race. Cartoonish. - Joe Bidenopolous - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 12:11 pm: =Proft- Really amatuerish, and not a lot of money behind it. Weak.= And wouldn’t it be a ton more effective downstate than in the suburbs? I guess there’s some suburban folks who respond but it’s really red meat for the hard core and I think (hope?) there’s a higher percentage of those folks down there than in the burbs - JS Mill - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 12:14 pm: Richard Uihlein- The rich-guy consolation prize. Most of the ads are fine, nothing exceptional. An astute person would see that Irvin is overcompensating for something. “errr I am a tough guy”. Not the usual persona for defense attorneys. - Pot calling kettle - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 12:57 pm: In order from best to worst: Pritzker ad – very clear message, positive Bailey ad – nice, friendly, welcoming, a nice change Irvin ad – OK, we get it, new message please Alexi ad – what’s the point? Rabine ad – what’s the point? Proft ad – Ick. I find it disturbing that we have folks putting this stuff out and even more disturbing that it will resonate with some voters. It is the most blatantly racist ad I’ve seen. - G'Kar - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 1:09 pm: Irvin ad seems pretty much the same to me as his earlier ad. Proft is being Proft I still think Rabine see his gubernatorial run as simply an ad for his paving company GianameIcan’tspell ad is cute, but I still don’t trust him as a sos. Bailey’s team did the right thing by not letting him speak. If he voiced the ad, I suspect he’d meander off to some nonsense For Pritzker, how does stopping the gas tax hurt the oil companies? They wouldn’t see the money. Actually, it kinda hurts Rabine, as there will be less money for road repair, so fewer contracts for his company. - Primate - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 2:03 pm: Twice in a day. Hat Tips to Oswego. I must have missed where the Irvin/Rauner ad brags on his years as a trial lawyer. - The Snowman - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 2:04 pm: Oh great….another Bailey commercial where you don’t hear his voice! They’re admitting it’s a liability in the general election. - Another Downstater - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 2:10 pm: Interesting that Alexi says he “stood up to Mike madigan” yet, when we had the worst Governor Bruce Rauner and President Donald Trump…poof…Alexi was no where to be found. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 2:11 pm: ===… must have missed where the Irvin/Rauner ad brags on his years as a trial lawyer=== I have no idea what this means in any context. The “angry fightin” thing was my comment. - ArchPundit - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 4:23 pm: ====And wouldn’t it be a ton more effective downstate than in the suburbs? Your analysis is very good except Proft’s audience isn’t voters, it’s the Uihleins. They can provide him with more profit. - Roman - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 4:24 pm: The Proft ad has its usual “on-the-cheap” feel. The DGA is doing a better job beating up Irvin on crime. If I were Proft I’d open up a new front and hit Irvin on Aurora’s “sanctuary” policies. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 4:25 pm: ===…except Proft’s audience isn’t voters, it’s the Uihleins. They can provide him with more profit.=== That’s the whole point of the grift. Appease them check writers. The radio show is what Proft does in between golf and cashing checks - Primate - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 5:03 pm: It was a complimentary comment with an observation. Sorry, I didn’t make it easier for you to differentiate between the two. Maybe an adverb before the last sentence would have helped. - OneMan - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 5:36 pm: Just saw a Sullivan ad with kids about taxes (couldn’t hear the sound). Wherever they shot it has a great view (guessing Southern Illinois someplace) but everyone in Chicagoland is going to think it was shot out of state. - Fivegreenleaves - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 7:06 pm: “Pritzker’s money, Madigan’s machine, they don’t scare me. I got the richest man in the state backing me.” - jw - Tuesday, Apr 26, 22 @ 11:49 pm: Where’s the Sullivan ad? Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.