Senator Rand Paul hoped to shake up the Republican presidential race by proposing a flat tax. In June he announced it with a Wall Street Journal opinion piece titled "Blow Up the Tax Code and Start Over." But since his poll numbers didn't move after, Paul decided to show he meant it literally.
In the online political ad "How Would You Kill The Tax Code?" Rand Paul stands in front a wheelbarrow filled with paper, with additional paper strewn over the ground.
Cryptically, Paul is wearing a t-shirt that says "Detroit Republican." Fortune magazine speculated whether Paul was simply trying to make a play for Michigan voters, blue-collar voters generally or making a dog whistle to libertarians who are interested in buying a Detroit island park.
"I'm trying to kill the tax code, all 70,000 pages of it," begins Paul. After pointing viewers to his website to learn about of his flat tax plan, viewers are given choices how they might destroy it.
"Burn It?" text reads on the screen, as we see Paul standing over the flames. "With a Wood chipper? we're asked, as Paul shoves paper into a green machine. Finally, "With a Chainsaw?" as Rand shows his prowess with power tools.
Then, the viewer gets to play Choose Your Own Adventure. The three options are presented on the YouTube screen with clickable links, each of which takes you to additional video of Rand Paul destroying the tax code by your preferred method.
The ad's approach was novel – but perhaps not novel enough.
In the online political ad "How Would You Kill The Tax Code?" Rand Paul stands in front a wheelbarrow filled with paper, with additional paper strewn over the ground.
Cryptically, Paul is wearing a t-shirt that says "Detroit Republican." Fortune magazine speculated whether Paul was simply trying to make a play for Michigan voters, blue-collar voters generally or making a dog whistle to libertarians who are interested in buying a Detroit island park.
Viewers Can Choose Their Favorite Way To Kill The Tax Code
"I'm trying to kill the tax code, all 70,000 pages of it," begins Paul. After pointing viewers to his website to learn about of his flat tax plan, viewers are given choices how they might destroy it.
"Burn It?" text reads on the screen, as we see Paul standing over the flames. "With a Wood chipper? we're asked, as Paul shoves paper into a green machine. Finally, "With a Chainsaw?" as Rand shows his prowess with power tools.
Then, the viewer gets to play Choose Your Own Adventure. The three options are presented on the YouTube screen with clickable links, each of which takes you to additional video of Rand Paul destroying the tax code by your preferred method.
The ad's approach was novel – but perhaps not novel enough.
But Lindsey Graham "Trumps" Rand Paul
Unfortunately for Paul, his online video showing multiple ways to destroy something came out right before Sen. Lindsey Graham's online video also showing multiple ways to destroy something. And Graham's destructive methods (in a toaster oven with pizza bagels, in a blender with Red Bull) were more creative, funnier, visually interesting and perhaps most importantly, were a response to the ultimate clickbait: Donald Trump.In turn, Paul video attracted about 100,000 YouTube views after its first day. Graham racked up nearly 1 million.