November 24, 2014 11:23 AM UTC

Colorado's WORST Political Ads (2014)

• 0 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

Here's our list of Colorado's WORST Political Ads in 2014. Click here to get back to the introduction page.

Colorado's WORST Political Ads (2014):

1. "Neighborhood," Bob Beauprez (R) for Governor [30 Seconds]
We never understood the decision by Bob Beauprez's campaign to start attacking Gov. John Hickenlooper on public safety issues by making the absurd argument that Coloradans are in harm's way because of Hickenlooper. Beauprez's late strategic change reeked of desperation, but this was a bad approach regardless of the timing. The message is ridiculous and over-the-top, earning a rebuke from the Denver Post editorial board ("Beauprez dives into gutter with new ad.") and almost certainly backfiring on Beauprez to some extent. For the cherry on this turd sundae, this ad also failed the "Watch it Three TImes" test; if you weren't looking directly at the television, you would glean nothing from this ad because there is no audible narration.

*Note: The ad below is the original version. This link shows the "corrected" spot following complaints from the Post.

2. "No Higher Calling," Cynthia Coffman (R) for Attorney General [30 Seconds]
Where's Norton and Frickey? This is a terrible TV spot that is almost indistinguishable from the cliche "people in suits walking up stairs" law firm commercials that run endlessly on late-night television. This could have been an advertisement for just about anything, frankly. Coffman is bland and boring in front of a camera, and her stale speech isn't helped by flashing inane buzzwords like "integrity" on the screen. Rounding out the problems with this ad brings us back to the title, which Coffman explains herself at the end of the spot when she says that there is "no higher calling" than being Colorado Attorney General. Really? Colorado Attorney General is the absolute pinnacle?

3. "Experience Matters," Wayne Williams (R) for Secretary of State [30 Seconds]
This is shit. There isn't a high school A/V class anywhere in Colorado that couldn't have made something better than this awful spot from Wayne Williams. The production value is terrible — the narration sounds like something you'd hear on the "welcome" channel when you flip on the TV at a hotel and conference center — and what's with Williams doing his stand-up speech in front of a green screen? Is there some reason Williams couldn't go outside and stand in front of something…real? And why is there no video of Williams? For most of the ad, we just see zoom shots of still photos instead of a live Williams interacting with constituents or family members. Is it possible that Williams actually died some time ago, and Colorado elected a corpse that will be rolled around Weekend at Bernie's-style?

4. "Say Yes to [The Dress] Bob Beauprez," College Republicans for Bob Beauprez [1 minute]
This spot is so brutally awful that you almost don't notice that they mispronounce "Beauprez" repeatedly. None other than TIME magazine called this "the most sexist Republican ad of the year," which is really saying something. We wrote about this ridiculous ad when it first appeared in late September as one of several cookie-cutter spots produced by the "College Republicans" (who need more college, apparently) — a takeoff on the TLC reality show "Say Yes to the Dress." The College Republican group defended their ad by saying that it was meant to start a conversation — it didn't work, to say the least. As we wrote before, this ad seemed to have come out of some kind of brainstorming idea where it sounded fun at first mention but didn't really hold up as more than just an idea. But they made it anyway.

5. "Stapleton for Colorado," Walker Stapleton (R) for State Treasurer [30 seconds]
This ad was not bestowed a creative one-word name like, "Leadership," but it deserves a better title than "Stapleton for Colorado." We'll call it, "Douchebag," because that's how Stapleton comes off at the end. Yes, this ad was produced to help Stapleton win re-election as State Treasurer, but It's no secret that Stapleton has been trying to position himself for a bid for Governor in 2018 (or even U.S. Senate in 2016), and that's where this becomes a disastrous FAIL. If you are a Republican seeking higher office in the next four years and you need to bypass Stapleton, just show the last :15 seconds of this ad to potential donors (or show them the GIF at right); nobody could watch this with a straight face and say, "yeah, that guy could be Governor someday." The combination of this ad and the devastating reports that Stapleton doesn't bother to show up at his office mean that Stapleton has just found his political ceiling.

6. "Mountain," Andrew Romanoff (D) for Congress [30 seconds]
Andrew Romanoff's first TV ad for his run in CD-6 was very well-produced and looked great…but the message was a strange choice for an introductory TV spot for a Democratic challenger. There are probably hundreds of similar ads across the country that were produced over the years for Republican candidates, but this doesn't work at all for Romanoff. The whole "Congress shouldn't spend more money than it has in the bank" shtick is rote and forgettable — you probably have socks that aren't this worn out — and it does a terrible disservice to Romanoff by marginalizing his intellect and charisma in exchange for something that probably looked good in polling results but isn't going to move a single voter to take action. This spot might have looked better if it was in the middle of the rotation for Romanoff's campaign, but not as the first ad introducing you to voters.

7. Americans for Prosperity Obamacare Ad with Photo from Aurora Shooting Press Conference [30 seconds]
When you have to pull your own ad because of negative press, you have a bad spot. In this Obamacare ad, Americans for Prosperity used a photo of Sen. Mark Udall and President Barack Obama taken at a press conference after the Aurora theater shootings in 2012. There's no excuse for this.