The Wolves ad provides John Kerry with an excellent opportunity to respond to George Bush's last remaning bastion of support -- the security issue. Here is a response ad I would like to see hit the airwaves as soon as possible:
Fade in on a snarling pack of wolves.
V.O.: On September 11, 2001, George Bush, his eye completely off the ball, let the wolves in the door.
Zoom in on one snarling wolf.
V.O.: The nastiest wolf of them all, Osama bin Laden, slipped away from George Bush in Tora Bora because he took his eye off the ball and outsourced our defense to Afghan war lords.
Pan to a close up of another snarling wolf.
V.O.: al-Zarqawi, the newest wolf, was handed his hunting field when George Bush took his eye off the ball and invaded Iraq.
Pan to a close up of two more snarling wolves.
V.O.: The wolves building weapons of mass destruction in Iran and North Korea? George Bush never even had those wolves in his sights.
Zoom out to show the entire pack. A shot rings out. The wolves scatter back into woods.
Cut to John Kerry, wearing a camouflage suit and hat, lowering a rifle from shooting position and turning toward the camera.
Kerry: Don't let George Bush scare you. I hunted these wolves down in Vietnam, and I'll hunt them down now.
Fade out
Here's another one I think the Kerry camp has yet to even try to exploit.
Fade in: George Bush rally.
Bush: The terrorists are not coming here to attack us because they're too busy attacking our boys over there in Iraq. [or whatever it was he exactly said to this effect]
Cut to headlines of American casualties in Iraq.
V.O.: We've lost about one-third as many Americans in Iraq as we did on September 11, 2001.
Cut to headlines of number of American wounded in Iraq.
V.O.: Many thousands more have been wounded there.
Cut to image of weeping mother.
V.O.: George Bush thinks we should protect ourselves by sending our children to die in Iraq. Is that a choice a mother would ever make?
Cut to John Kerry.
Kerry: Not in my America. We don't just talk about family values -- we value families. Now more than ever.
Fade out
Here's another one that plays on the wolves ad and appeals to women:
Fade in on a the pack of wolves in the Bush ad.
V.O.: George Bush knows only one way to appeal to women. Fear!
Cut to John Kerry speaking at a rally on women's issues.
Kerry: [insert appropriate excerpt of Kerry speaking about relevant issues]
V.O.: George Bush has no message for women except fear. John Kerry wants nothing less for women than to help in every way he can.
Fade out.
Finally, since I'm a big hockey fan and have always found that hockey is an excellent metaphor for life:
Fade in: Video of a hockey player throwing a huge body check.
V.O.: Are there any tougher competitors in the world than hockey players?
Cut to video of a hockey player scoring a goal.
V.O.: They have their sights set on goals and will stop at nothing until they achieve them.
Cut to still photo of John Kerry's Yale hockey team with a circle around Kerry.
V.O.: Only one candidate for president will bring the dedication and toughness of the hockey player to the White House.
Cut to still photo or video of Kerry playing at UNH last January.
V.O.: John Kerry.
Fade out.
OK, maybe that last one is a bit fanicful. Maybe a more experienced advertising professional can come up with something that works. Either way, don't you think showing John Kerry the hockey player would show a tough side of him that might appeal to people who are too lazy to actually research the issues?
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