Contemporary Architecture
Whatever you think of him, there are few smarter people in politics than Karl Rove and his essay in the Wall Street Journal on the new rules of the game is well worth reading. His most interesting point is about how you reach voters: “Voters are discounting advertising. They may be blocking out ads, relying more on personal exposure, information from social networks, alternative information sources like talk radio and the Internet, and local media coverage. By Feb. 5, when it costs $16 million to burn one television spot in every state that's voting, it's simply too expensive to be on air everywhere at once.
The 20th century's closing decades saw the rise of the TV ad man as the most potent operator in presidential campaigns. The 21st century's opening decade is seeing the rise of the communications director and press spokesman as the more important figures on a campaign staff. It is the age of the Internet, cable TV, YouTube, multiple news cycles in one day, and the need for really instantaneous response. Ads and ad makers are still vital -- but not nearly as much as they were just a few years ago.” Certainly, this campaign hasn’t seen any classic ad yet and Mitt Romney still didn't win Florida even after airing ten times as many ads as John McCain. In a sign of the times, the most talked about ad to date—the vote different ad —was not produced by any campaign and never paid to be broadcast on TV .