The elderly lobby AARP is not letting up in its fight to derail the repeal of Obamacare. Already we've seen an ad campaign reminiscent of "Harry and Louise" that targeted 11 Republican Senators. Now with a vote in the Senate imminent, AARP is narrowing its focus on relatively moderate Senators from West Virginia, Nevada, Ohio, Colorado and Alaska, in a spot that emphasizes what the bill could do to families caring for sick children and grandparents.
As her son rambles down the stairs, and her daughter strides to the dining room, the narrator begins to tick off the family's health care costs "...to pay for his inhaler, her allergy treatments... ." The grandmother is helped to the table, and the narrator notes, "...and the care she needs to stay in her home."
Instead, the narrator turns the viewer's attention to the pending Senate bill. "That's why the Senate's health care bill is so devastating. You'll spend even more on premiums, pay more for prescriptions, and your family's coverage could be taken away altogether." The ads with an admonition to "tell your senator to do what's right and vote no on the health care bill."
By taking Obamacare out of the equation, AARP hopes to prevent Republicans and other Obamacare skeptics from reflexively supporting anything dubbed "repeal." If any of the Republican senators from West Virginia, Nevada, Ohio, Colorado and Alaska end up voting no, we'll know that the tactic worked.
AARP Warns Republican Health Care Bill Will Cost Families
The ad is a "one-shot," a single long take following the members of a middle-class family gathering for dinner. We first see the mother, as the narrator says "You work hard, putting in extra hours..." (suggesting AARP's media consultant see working-class mothers as the target audience).As her son rambles down the stairs, and her daughter strides to the dining room, the narrator begins to tick off the family's health care costs "...to pay for his inhaler, her allergy treatments... ." The grandmother is helped to the table, and the narrator notes, "...and the care she needs to stay in her home."
AARP Doesn't Mention "Obamacare"
The camera swirls around the table, and the narrator says, "At the end of the month, there isn't much left." But this ad isn't railing against the status quo; in fact, "Affordable Care Act," Obamacare" and "repeal" are not mentioned.Instead, the narrator turns the viewer's attention to the pending Senate bill. "That's why the Senate's health care bill is so devastating. You'll spend even more on premiums, pay more for prescriptions, and your family's coverage could be taken away altogether." The ads with an admonition to "tell your senator to do what's right and vote no on the health care bill."
By taking Obamacare out of the equation, AARP hopes to prevent Republicans and other Obamacare skeptics from reflexively supporting anything dubbed "repeal." If any of the Republican senators from West Virginia, Nevada, Ohio, Colorado and Alaska end up voting no, we'll know that the tactic worked.