Hillary Clinton has a new ad running in Iowa that is must watch political storytelling. Of course we like it, it begins with the line “Let me tell you a little story…” CLICK HERE AND WATCH IT. Then we’ll talk.
In five-element story terms this ad is almost perfect. The problem facing Joe Ward – the man speaking directly to us - is one that any one can relate to with PASSION – his son is sick and needs an expensive bone marrow transplant to survive. Joe himself is an excellent HERO. Speaking in a clear, authentic voice and making strong eye contact, it is very hard not to be drawn into seeing things from his point of view. The quick shots of family photos underline his everyman quality. We all have photos just like that in our home. The ANTAGONIST is easily understood. Joe’s insurance company (he has insurance, that’s important because he is a responsible parent) wouldn’t cover the life saving procedure his son desperately needed. But instead of giving up in despair Joe got an inspired idea (the element of AWARENESS) and called Hillary Clinton for help. The very next day Joe’s world is TRANSFORMED when Hilary gets the hospital to agree to cover the cost.
A life and death story with all five elements in under 20 seconds. Beautiful. Then it gets better. Having established that Hillary’s commitment to health care is personal and practical, the ad now makes the second point that if Hillary’s opponents say she can’t be trusted they are just dead wrong – Joe trusted Hillary with his son’s life and she came through.
This ad isn’t a slam-dunk. It is better than that. It is the sort of quick break lay up that winning seasons are built around And if it gives her opponents a hard elbow as it goes in for the hoop, it is done so gracefully you end up smiling even as inside you’ve got to wince for their pain.
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