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Hot Spots
Stuff we like from around the Web
A lot has been made about comedian's - white comedians - inability to make fun of Barack Obama. That's just silly. And a little dated because, of course, the best Obama parody is on-line.
Here's a link to a page that will show you nothing but all the good and worthy thing Obama is capable of doing - or has done - just for you. 'cause you need his help. Naturally, there's a book to to along with the fun that's available on-line as well.
Barack Obama: Too darn perfect not to ridicule his perfection.
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PopSpots
Spot-on's Pop Picks
When Barack Obama's campaign rolls into town, the DeeJays get ready. Here's a sampling of some of what played at the Obama rally last week in San Francisco.
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye
Family Affair - Sly and the Family Stone
Ain't No Stopping Us Now - Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes
Waiting On The World to Change - Jon Mayer
Takin' Care of Business - Bachman-Turner Overdrive
Think - Aretha Franklin
We Are Family - Sister Sledge
Funky President (People It's Bad) - James Brown
Pick up the Pieces - Average White Band
Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Marvin Gaye and Tammy Terrell
Spot-On Spotlight
Let's talk disclosure.
Campaigns and consultants are using the web for the simplest of reasons: it's where the voters are. But with widespread use come demands for protection - or at least the same degree of transparency - found in other mediums.
The issue of disclosure is already making headlines.
The Federal Trade Commission has told bloggers that starting this month they must disclose payment or other compensation for endorsement of products and services.
In 2007, the Federal Elections Commission ruled that bloggers are not subject to its regulations when it comes to payments. So an interesting conflict over "blogging for bucks" - the practice of adopting bloggers as a political campaign's online spokesmen and women - may well be in our future.
The Food and Drug Administration is also hold hearings on the use of search ads - those text ads down the right-hand side of your search results page - for pharmaceutical companies. That's not politics, of course, but it's another indication that regulatory agencies are looking at online with a new set of criteria.
And it's not just the federal government. In Florida, as this Wall Street Journal story details, there's been a dispute over disclosure on Google ad buys in a local race. Here's a link to the WSJ story (subscription may be required). And here's further discussion.
The Association of American Political Consultants has suggested that text ads are akin to campaign buttons and shouldn't require disclosure. They may well be in the right but there's still plenty of room for this debate to continue. One solution for campaigns may be to follow the drug companies and put disclosure statements on the landing page for the text ad; some advertisers require this for banner ads as well.
Not all online outlets require disclosure statements for display ads - that's particularly true for those unaffiliated with "real world" media outlets. But Spot-on's advice to all our clients is the same: Disclose, regardless of placement. And as you move forward with a campaign, make sure your online ad placement folks know - and abide by - the rules. And, of course, we'll keep you up-to-date on any changes we anticipate as well.
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