Ad Wars: taxing questions for Obama and Romney

There has been much discussion about Barack Obama’s lacklustre performance during the first presidential debate.

One question in particular has been raised. Why did Obama not take advantage of two wide-open goals – his opponent’s tax affairs and his infamous “47 per cent” comment?

What makes the omission even more surprising is that both themes have loomed large in Obama’s advertising campaigns.

No Taxes (above) opens with a clip of Mitt Romney “trashing” the 47 per cent then going on to declare: “Mitt Romney paid just 14.1 per cent in taxes last year. He keeps millions in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. He won’t release his tax returns before 2010. Maybe instead of attacking others on taxes, Romney should come clean on his.”

For the last six months the Obama campaign has sought to portray Mitt Romney as a plutocrat who cares nothing for the plight of ordinary Americans.

Whenever Romney has sought to highlight his record as a CEO at Bain Capital. Obama has been quick to respond with counter ads showing workers who suffered as a result of the Bain lay-offs.

There was no mention of them on Wednesday night. Nor of the Cayman Islands. Romney, on the other hand, repeated the same charges that have featured in his advertising. Chief among these is the parlous state of the economy.

Prairie Fire (above) makes the deficit seem like the end of the world as we know it.

To the accompaniment of sinister music we see the American countryside, downtown and suburbia (complete with white picket fence) disappear under a wreath of red smoke, until even the sun is blotted out.

In the voice-over Romney intones: “A prairie fire of debt is sweeping across the nation… every day that we fail to act… that fire gets closer to the homes and the children we love”.

One subject unites the two candidates: the middle class. Both Obama and Romney have seized every opportunity, in speeches and advertising, to appeal to the hard-working, college-fee-paying American families who suffered most from the economic collapse – and who will suffer even more if the other guy gets in.

Who Will Raise Taxes? (above), from the Romney team, accuses Barack Obama “and the liberals” (cue photo of Nancy Pelosi) of raising taxes on the middle class to pay for Obamacare. The female voice-over states that Mitt Romney and “common-sense conservatives” will cut taxes on the middle class.

Mitt Romney’s Plans to Strengthen the Middle Class (above) makes clever use of footage of Romney at the Republican convention (and sound effects of chirping crickets) to suggest the opposite: Romney has nothing to offer middle Americans.

In order to recover some of the ground lost during the debate Obama will have to portray his challenger as a man who will say and do anything to get elected.

At the same time he will have to redouble his efforts to fire up his ground troops.

Even before the debate the volunteers who swept Obama to power in 2008 were feeling demoralised.

Ads have been running across the swing-states to try to rebuild grass roots support. Eva Longoria has been encouraging early voting in North Carolina, while Natalie Portman has been mobilising support in Ohio. Potential donors have been enticed by the prospect of winning dinner with the president.

50 Days (above) seeks to recreate the message of hope and inspiration. Obama is a president, supporters declare, who has kept the faith on Iraq, student loans, the auto industry, civil rights, energy, Wall Street and health care reform.

“We can’t stop here,” a teacher urges, “we have to keep pushing forward. We have to do more.”

While Obama has stayed true to his policy pronouncements, used both inpiration and attack in his stump speeches and advertising, his tactics diverged when it came to the debate.

With Mitt Romney it’s the other way round. He has flip-flopped his way through his campaign, executed policy u-turns that have left commentators incredulous, but he has been consistent in the rhetoric of his communications.

Both Obama and Romney rushed out commercials in the aftermath of Wednesday’s debate.

While Mitt Romney Isn’t Telling the Truth is two minutes of rational, line-by-line fact checking, We Can’t Afford Four More Years (above) uses Romney’s debate speech to electrifying effect.

To the accompaniment of soaring music and emotive images Romney speaks at his most fervent and shiny-eyed, while Obama looks downcast and defeated.

Pre-debate, re-election for Obama seemed guaranteed. As things stand, the teacher in the 50 Days ad was right. Obama will have to do more.

James von Leyden is a brand consultant and copywriter