The Future of Political Advertising

The Future of Political Advertising. By Matthew Hennessy atWSJ Free Expression.

In Los Angeles, an innovative form of political advertising is getting a real-world test. Spencer Pratt’s upstart campaign for mayor is surging, in part, because of the viral lift he’s gotten from a series of short videos…

The videos are effective because they ignore most of the rules of traditional political advertising. They aren’t trying to make Mr. Pratt, a political novice, seem serious and experienced. They aren’t trying to fill in gaps in his biography. Rather they are aiming to raise the stakes in an election that would typically be a cakewalk for the incumbent. They speak with an original narrative vocabulary. They do things nobody thought you were allowed to do.

Ms. Bass has complained that the videos are “150% fiction,” but it isn’t illegal or unheard of to stretch the truth in a political ad. The real fiction may be the idea that these are political ads at all.

If you notice, the clips don’t come with the usual disclaimer at the end: “I’m Spencer Pratt, and I approve this message.” That’s because his campaign isn’t producing them. These are “fan” videos, made by filmmaker Charlie Curran.

This is something new — videos that look like and do the work of political advertising but that aren’t paid for by a campaign or political action committee and don’t feature any footage or audio from the candidate himself.

The Federal Election Commission regulates political advertising, largely by requiring disclosures and enforcing funding limits and coordination rules. Does any of that apply here? Hard to tell. Mr. Curran has free speech, after all….

Nobody can say for sure how much a 60-second AI-generated spot costs to make. But it’s radically less expensive than hiring a film crew to produce cinematic ads like Ronald Reagan’s 1984 “Morning in America” or Lyndon Johnson’s 1964 “Daisy.”

Some examples: