Politics

Update: Even Rick Snyder Slams Bridal Commercial as 'Dumb And Offensive'

October 03, 2014, 3:06 PM by  Alan Stamm

Well, this makes it nearly unanimous: Gov. Rick Snyder joins the pile-on of critics saying the College Republican National Committee stumbles badly with a widely ridiculed commercial for six governors, including him.

It's "dumb and offensive," he tells Chad Selweski of The Macomb Daily, adding:

Snyder said his campaign had no input into the making of the ad and they did not see the spot in advance.

Asked if he will insist that the College Republicans take down the advertisement in Michigan, the governor replied:

“You can quote me real well in your paper. You can say that I called that ad dumb and offensive, and I would be happy to send them a copy of that quote.”


Original article, Wednesday afternoon:

A new TV endorsement of Rick Snyder from the College Republican National Committee is an odd bridal salon mini-drama.

Featured_1_14362
This actress plays an undecided voter shopping for a candidate. In a bridal salon.

Adapting the approach of a popular TLC reality show, "Say Yes to the Dress," it compares the decision for undecided voters -- the governor or challenger Mark Schauer -- to a choice between "a trusted brand" of sleek wedding gown or a costlier style with a lace overlay, sheer long sleeves, rope of pearls and a bouffant veil.

Time magazine calls it "the most sexist Republican ad of the year." Critics also sound off at the New RepublicNew York magazine, Washington Monthly, The American Prospect and Bloomberg View.

Here in Detroit, Free Press columnist Nancy Kaffer posts a brutal takedown, mocking the commercial (video is below) as "this minute-long spot of epic campaign brilliance."

"This ad, it changed my life. What do I want? To get married. In a dress that's stylish, modern and affordable. Just like Rick Snyder. . . .

The Democrats' progressive policy looks like it aligns with my priorities, but I have been over-thinking this way too much. The Republicans understand that I need a fashionable, modern appearance, a husband and a wedding dress. Just like Rick Snyder.

In her sharply sarcastic riff, Kaffer skewers the commercial as "reductionist, surreal, maybe even absurd."

The ad also began airing Wednesday in five other states, adapted to fit governors' races in Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Colorado and Arkansas. Time's slap includes this line: "And we wonder why women think Republicans don’t get them."  

At New York, Jessica Roy writes that Republicans evidently think "young people — especially women, since the viewership of "Say Yes to the Dress" is overwhelmingly female — simply cannot figure out who to vote for unless it's filtered through reality show taglines."

In the New Republic, Esther Berger sees the assumption this way:

For young women, political decisions are like dating. And not even legitimate dating — the superficial, emotionally staged dating of reality TV. 


Read more:  The Macomb Daily


Leave a Comment:

Photo Of The Day