Well, this is charming:
The ad is the brainchild of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, and Matthew Archbold at the National Catholic Register calls it “the most anti-Catholic political ad you’ll ever see.” Could be… but frankly I find it so confusing as a piece of advertising that I’m not sure it even rises to that level.
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I mean, what exactly is it trying to say? Surely they don’t mean “Catholics hate the poor,” as their own ranks must have plenty of Catholic Democrats who wouldn’t take kindly to the suggestion. Maybe they mean to accuse members of the hierarchy, or the global Church in general, of indifference to the poor — in which case, simply pinning that button on a priest doesn’t make it clear (and would be an absurd charge anyway, as the Church is the single largest charitable institution in the world). Or maybe they imagine they’re attacking Catholic Republicans for ignoring the poor — but it’s kind of hard to tell just what party that headless priest belongs to.
I know pretty much zero about advertising, but as someone being advertised to, I have absolutely no idea what’s going on here. And of all the potential points this ad could be trying to make, surely that’s not the reaction they were going for. Basically, it’s an ad that’s stupid at best and offensively stupid at worst. Great job, guys!
I’m with Joseph — can this election be over soon, please?
UPDATE: DotCommonweal is reporting that a DFL spokesman issued a statement saying the ad is part of a two-piece series taking aim at a particular candidate (nondenominational preacher Dan Hall, a Republican). Given that the imagery they used doesn’t exactly scream “nondenominational,” I’m still calling this one a failed ad — especially since, as Hall himself says, “In the end, it’s probably going to help me.” Thanks to Grant Gallicho for getting to the bottom of this.