Adwatch: Obama ad in California addresses oil dependency
January 13, 2008

TITLE: "Quiet"
LENGTH: 30 seconds.
AIRING: California

SCRIPT: Obama: "I don't accept that we should be still sending eight hundred million dollars a day, part to hostile nations because of our addiction to foreign oil. And in the bargain we're melting the polar ice caps. I went to Detroit to insist that we have to increase fuel efficiency standards. Now, I have to admit, the room got kind of quiet. We can't just tell people what they want to hear. We need to tell them what they need to hear. We need to tell them the truth."

KEY IMAGES: Seen with his sleeves rolled up, Obama stands in a room full of supporters describing his vision and efforts to reduce dependency on foreign oil. With several shots of women, the crowd is seen as smiling, laughing and applauding his efforts. The ad closes with a visual message, "Change we can believe in."

ANALYSIS: The ad attempts to show Obama as a candidate who will stand up to special interests and protect the environment in green-friendly California. The shots of the crowd, many of them women, who is laughing and applauding him, seek to demonstrate his emotional connection with voters as Obama aims to cut away at Clinton's base of support among California women. Obama is also striving to build his support with independents, who view him as strong in producing new ideas and speaking his mind.
The focus of the ad tends to be more style than substance, avoiding specifics about what exactly he would do to reduce dependency on foreign oil if elected president. Obama has called for reducing carbon emissions, investing $150 billion over 10 years to develop new energy sources and substantially reducing dependence on foreign oil by 2030; Clinton and Edwards have similar plans.
Obama has been criticized by some environmental groups for supporting the Bush administration's energy bill in 2005 and for being a strong supporter of Illinois' coal industry.
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On the Net:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/caquietad
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Analysis by Associated Press Writer Hope Yen.