Rick Snyder paid $700,000 for a 60-second ad to run during the Super Bowl yesterday — remember that as you watch our governor confirm he's running for office again. It's mesmerizing: Snyder emerges from a swimming pool wearing full scuba gear, takes off a mask, smiles awkwardly, and Strategic Perception — the California firm that brought us Pete Hoekstra's disastrous 2012 campaign ad — brands him the "Comeback Kid" of Michigan. Whatever that means.
Toss in that bizarre, noir headshot at the tail-end of the ad, calling to mind the likes of Dracula and Rod Serling, and ... wait, was that Snyder's record the narrator listed off? If you're puzzled by the snorkeling scene, don't fret: so was John Truscott, former press secretary for Governor John Engler.
Truscott initially was confused by the snorkeling scene too, but upon further reflection, he thought it worked as a metaphor. "Michigan was under water when Snyder was elected," he said. "We were drowning in debt. Snyder brought us back up above water and is returning growth and economic expansion to Michigan."
Yeah, that's the way to sell yourself — a confusing metaphor, followed by a poorly lit blank stare.
Over at Deadline Detroit, Jeff Wattrick grabbed the opening shot and made it an endlessly looped GIF. The result is amazing.
