Copywriting, Politics, and the Art of the Lie
I’ve been watching the local and national elections from a different perspective this year.
I don’t believe a word any of them are saying.
See, I’m one of those old guys who reads the daily paper every morning. You know — the real thing that’s made from (recycled) wood products. Every morning I read both the editorial pages and a special section they call “Politi-Fact.” It’s a truth-o-meter system they’ve installed whereby they evaluate things our elected officials and wannabes are judged for the veracity of their statements.
Rarely do I see anything above “Half Truth,” and the pages are mostly filled with lies, more lies and damn lies.
So, because I have a hard time believing that what politicians say is based in fact, I like to follow their campaigns from the perspective of a copywriter.
Take this statement that I received today from the Democratic Party in an Email:
“Look, you don’t need a Ouija board to predict that GOP control would mean: privatizing Social Security, privatizing Medicare, privatizing veterans benefits and ending unemployment benefits. No billionaire will be left behind. Insurance companies will be back in control your health care. And Wall Street will be allowed to go back to playing Russian roulette with our economy — aided by trillions in our Social Security funds.”
If you read this statement purely for its copywriting value, it’s well done. The statement is targeted specifically to Democrats, and in particular, those who “fear” Republican control and/or are firmly against the wealthy, Insurance companies and Wall Street.
It is designed to incite action in the form of a donation to the party cause. “They” (Democrats and Republicans alike) aren’t concerned about disseminating the truth. What’s important to them is that they raise the hackles of their faithful enough to get money and win the race.
Maybe it’s not all lies…
That’s not to say that there isn’t some truth to what the various candidates and their parties are saying. That’s the beauty of reading these things from a copywriter’s perspective.
There is just enough “truth” to their statements to lend some credibility. If you’re a believer, you won’t outright reject the statement because it “rings true” enough to justify your feelings – the same feelings that they are intentionally provoking!
Well-written copy does exactly that. It feels true enough to be believable. You don’t have to check the facts because the statement is in agreement with your general philosophy.
Even when the opposition says, “That’s a lie!” the damage has already been done.
So, when the letter from the Democratic Party goes on to say, “We’ll lose control of our fiscal destiny when they give another $700 billion in tax cuts to millionaires,” they say something that is both inflammatory and believable (to a Democrat).
Likewise, the Republicans will turn that same statement around to claim that if the Democrats stay in power, they’ll “give yet another $700 billion to Wall Street.”
Honestly, and this is indeed the truth, politics has become the dregs of the copywriting world… at least in my humble opinion. It’s great writing. I love reading it.
But, it also makes me sick to know that so much raw talent is being wasted on intentionally stretching the truth and telling outright lies for the sake of money and power.
And, with that, I’ll crawl back into my 1960′s love and peace bubble and try to write truthful copy on which I can hang my moral high-ground hat.
