Ad/s of the Year for me is the series from The Lincoln Project in the US. It is hard to imagine a better use of advertising than the defence of the world’s most important democracy. Coming up to the Mid-Terms, the media in the US ( and not just the Right Wing) had decided that a mid-term President with low poll ratings was going to be subject to a Red Wave, sweeping the Republican Party – Trump’s Party – into both the House of Representatives and to a significant majority in the Senate. It didn’t happen.
I’m not saying that the Lincoln Project ads were responsible. But the barrage of well-written, authentically constructed arguments built into 60 seconds flighted in the tightest races must have had some impact, particularly with independents who hadn’t made up their minds. Not everyone condones advertising’s use in what should be politic debate about ideas. In my view, in the fight against the MAGA/QAnon crazies, Every Little Helps.
Tim Delaney is co-founder and chairman of Leagas Delaney.
