In this week’s Weird Political Ad Friday, we are featuring a very awkward ad by Herman Cain, former Republican presidential candidate. Cain released various hilarious ads, which will also be featured in upcoming articles. Unfortunately, the official video of this ad has been removed, but copies of it are available on YouTube.
The ad starts out pretty normal. Mark Block, the manager for Cain’s campaign, talks about many positive things, including the campaign and Herman Cain. I personally think that even this normal beginning was pretty absurd as it seemed too dull for a political ad. Wouldn’t it be more politically effective if it was a citizen talking rather than your highest paid employee? But I digress. The ending, then takes the cake. Block takes out a cigarette and starts smoking while ‘I am America’ by Krista Branch plays in the background.
This ad was published on October 19, 2011 and originally lasts about a minute. It was used by Cain for his shot in the 2012 Presidential Elections. It received close to 2 million views on social media and received more dislikes than likes, as you would expect. Although Herman Cain was called inexperienced and an outsider to Washington, he managed to receive a good amount of votes in unofficial polls. Cain suspended his campaign in the beginning of 2011, not making it to the Republican primaries.
