A series of ad campaigns sponsored and created by the College Republican National Committee (CRNC) have received criticism and backlash recently from both Democratic pundits, and the internet community in general.
The ads in question feature a parody of the TLC show “Say Yes to the Dress” wherein a young woman, described as an undecided voter, is shown trying on different wedding dresses which represent gubernatorial candidates.
Various articles published online from Slate, The Huffington Post and The New York Times have labeled the ads as displaying sexist overtones.
In a memo written by the CRNC National Chair Alex Smith, it is said that the ads were evaluated by various focus groups, and the response was positive.
“Each of the advertisements that we’re rolling out, including ‘Say Yes to
The Dress’,” Smith said in the memo, “were evaluated through a series of focus groups among voters aged 18-29 across the partisan, ideological, socioeconomic and professional spectrum.”
The YouTube video of a “Say Yes to the Candidate” ad supporting Florida governor Rick Scott has been published online for a week and received almost 400,000 views. The video has also garnered over 400 ‘thumbs up’ and 2,800 ‘thumbs down’ votes. The comments section has been disabled.
“[The] criticism of our advertising campaign isn’t only expected, it’s welcome,” Smith said. “We’re thrilled Democrats are so threatened by our ads that they are spending precious hours 33 days before the election to share our video that advocates for the defeat of their candidates. We appreciate the free publicity.”
However, the ‘free publicity’ Smith speaks of may not be as helpful as the CRNC assumes it is, says Matthew Shaffer, a UW junior in the political science and pre-law department.
“From a political identification perspective Republican voters are going to see the ad and be more reinforced by it,” Shaffer said. “But you aren’t going to sway any undecided voters with this ad, and you’re going to polarize Democratic voters even more. From a cost standpoint, this is highly ineffective.”
The ads focus on two demographics that, statistically, have been the least likely to identify with the GOP. Young, female voters.
Included in Smith’s memo is a picture of the group of CRNC members responsible for designing the ad. The photo shows five young women, furthering Smith’s claim that the ads aren’t sexist, but rather “…for young voters, by young voters.”
The gender of the ads’ designers isn’t relevant to whether or not the ad itself is sexist however, said Shaffer.
“If you were truly trying to inform female voters, you would present them with the actual facts and the actual issues,” Shaffer said. “The CRNC is effectively demonstrating that their view of young women is that they only care about popular media like ‘Say Yes to the Dress’, and are not as interested in dirty politics.”
The ads were run in 16 different states, said Smith in the memo, and the “Say Yes to the Candidate” variant is only one of six different ads developed and sponsored by the CRNC.
