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Gray Davis Rolls Out Ad Campaign

Aired September 02, 2003 - 15:12   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: In a state as large and diverse as California, TV ads are an essential part of any successful political campaign. As we reported, Governor Gray Davis today released his first TV commercial of this campaign. The campaign purchased one week of airtime in the L.A., San Francisco and Monterey markets. The spot features Dianne Feinstein, perhaps the state's most popular Democrat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: ... was reelected just last November. Within three months, this recall effort began. It was started by people who WERE unhappy with the results of a legitimate election, in which eight million Californians voted. It's producing uncertainty and instability. It's bad for the economy, bad for jobs and bad for California. That's why I'm voting no. I hope you will, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: Well, with me now to talk more about the competing ads in the California recall is Marty Kaplan. He is the associate dean at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of South Carolina.

Marty Kaplan, good to see you again.

MARTIN KAPLAN, ANNENBERG SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATION: University of Southern California, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Did I say that? I hope I did.

KAPLAN: You said South Carolina.

WOODRUFF: Oh, my goodness.

(CROSSTALK)

KAPLAN: Your mind is on the Kerry announcement.

WOODRUFF: And the presidential campaign on the brain.

KAPLAN: Yes, exactly.

WOODRUFF: Please forgive me. Southern California.

Marty Kaplan, are these ads featuring Dianne Feinstein going to help Gray Davis? KAPLAN: I think they are.

It's amazing how much content you can pack into a few seconds. In that ad and the other one they're releasing today, they hit all the points that seem to be helping Davis, that the recall is costly, that it's unfair. And Dianne Feinstein as a message-bearer is perfect. The other point not made in the clip you showed was that you have to compare who we have now with an inexperienced candidate whose positions we haven't a clue about.

WOODRUFF: But, Marty Kaplan, it wasn't so long ago -- it was a few years ago -- that Gray Davis ran against Dianne Feinstein, ran some critical ads of her. Doesn't he run the risk that one of his opponents here is going to dredge up one of those ads and juxtapose the two, taking a lot of meaning out of these current Dianne Feinstein ads?

KAPLAN: I don't think that is so much a liability for him. I think a greater liability is the fact that he doesn't appear in the ad.

That little black-and-white square photo at the lower right only reminds people of what they think about Gray Davis, which is that, as a person, he's cold, unapproachable and stiff. So you get a great message from a great message-bearer and a kind of subtext reminder of what made you uncomfortable about the guy in the first place.

WOODRUFF: All right, I want to ask you two questions rolled into one. And has to do with the Arnold Schwarzenegger ad. We're going to show it a little bit while I'm talking to you. This has been airing now for several days in California.

No. 1, what does this ad do for him? And, frankly, do ads make that much of a difference in a race where we read in "The Washington Post" anyway today that free media, in other words, news coverage, is what a lot of people are paying attention to?

KAPLAN: I think this ad is kind of a goofy choice for him. The only message it sends is that he seems to live in a very nice house and has a lot of money. I think people already know that.

And, as a result, it only emphasizes the great unknown about him, which is where he stands on, on anything. Saying that everybody is going to have a fantastic job in the future will get you a pass for a few days, but it won't take you all the way. Now the debate or his refusal to debate has raised again the question of how much substance there is behind him, how much he will tell us about where he will take the future.

He needs ads that say that. He also can do it without ads. Nobody, in effect, needs to advertise much in this race. There is more coverage that happened in the first few days of this campaign than occurred in the prior two gubernatorial races put together.

WOODRUFF: We can testify to that. We did put a lot of attention, focus a lot of attention on this race. Well, Marty Kaplan, we're going to have to leave it there, Marty Kaplan at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California.

KAPLAN: Bravo.

WOODRUFF: Thanks very much.

KAPLAN: Thank you, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Good to see you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired September 2, 2003 - 15:12   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: In a state as large and diverse as California, TV ads are an essential part of any successful political campaign. As we reported, Governor Gray Davis today released his first TV commercial of this campaign. The campaign purchased one week of airtime in the L.A., San Francisco and Monterey markets. The spot features Dianne Feinstein, perhaps the state's most popular Democrat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D), CALIFORNIA: ... was reelected just last November. Within three months, this recall effort began. It was started by people who WERE unhappy with the results of a legitimate election, in which eight million Californians voted. It's producing uncertainty and instability. It's bad for the economy, bad for jobs and bad for California. That's why I'm voting no. I hope you will, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WOODRUFF: Well, with me now to talk more about the competing ads in the California recall is Marty Kaplan. He is the associate dean at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of South Carolina.

Marty Kaplan, good to see you again.

MARTIN KAPLAN, ANNENBERG SCHOOL FOR COMMUNICATION: University of Southern California, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Did I say that? I hope I did.

KAPLAN: You said South Carolina.

WOODRUFF: Oh, my goodness.

(CROSSTALK)

KAPLAN: Your mind is on the Kerry announcement.

WOODRUFF: And the presidential campaign on the brain.

KAPLAN: Yes, exactly.

WOODRUFF: Please forgive me. Southern California.

Marty Kaplan, are these ads featuring Dianne Feinstein going to help Gray Davis? KAPLAN: I think they are.

It's amazing how much content you can pack into a few seconds. In that ad and the other one they're releasing today, they hit all the points that seem to be helping Davis, that the recall is costly, that it's unfair. And Dianne Feinstein as a message-bearer is perfect. The other point not made in the clip you showed was that you have to compare who we have now with an inexperienced candidate whose positions we haven't a clue about.

WOODRUFF: But, Marty Kaplan, it wasn't so long ago -- it was a few years ago -- that Gray Davis ran against Dianne Feinstein, ran some critical ads of her. Doesn't he run the risk that one of his opponents here is going to dredge up one of those ads and juxtapose the two, taking a lot of meaning out of these current Dianne Feinstein ads?

KAPLAN: I don't think that is so much a liability for him. I think a greater liability is the fact that he doesn't appear in the ad.

That little black-and-white square photo at the lower right only reminds people of what they think about Gray Davis, which is that, as a person, he's cold, unapproachable and stiff. So you get a great message from a great message-bearer and a kind of subtext reminder of what made you uncomfortable about the guy in the first place.

WOODRUFF: All right, I want to ask you two questions rolled into one. And has to do with the Arnold Schwarzenegger ad. We're going to show it a little bit while I'm talking to you. This has been airing now for several days in California.

No. 1, what does this ad do for him? And, frankly, do ads make that much of a difference in a race where we read in "The Washington Post" anyway today that free media, in other words, news coverage, is what a lot of people are paying attention to?

KAPLAN: I think this ad is kind of a goofy choice for him. The only message it sends is that he seems to live in a very nice house and has a lot of money. I think people already know that.

And, as a result, it only emphasizes the great unknown about him, which is where he stands on, on anything. Saying that everybody is going to have a fantastic job in the future will get you a pass for a few days, but it won't take you all the way. Now the debate or his refusal to debate has raised again the question of how much substance there is behind him, how much he will tell us about where he will take the future.

He needs ads that say that. He also can do it without ads. Nobody, in effect, needs to advertise much in this race. There is more coverage that happened in the first few days of this campaign than occurred in the prior two gubernatorial races put together.

WOODRUFF: We can testify to that. We did put a lot of attention, focus a lot of attention on this race. Well, Marty Kaplan, we're going to have to leave it there, Marty Kaplan at the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Southern California.

KAPLAN: Bravo.

WOODRUFF: Thanks very much.

KAPLAN: Thank you, Judy.

WOODRUFF: Good to see you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com