Shooting an Ad for a Political Campaign

I’ve never worked on a political campaign before. I’ve always been interested in politics, the political process, our nation’s history and all of that. As a former member of the media, I covered the last abortion ban in South Dakota, but never witnessed how things operate “behind the scenes.”

I gotta tell you, I didn’t know what to expect. It’s intense to say the least. I love it. But, it’s much more adrenaline-driven than my job with Planned Parenthood.

There will be an ad shoot in South Dakota in the coming month or so for the fight against Initiated Measure 11. I have been charged with helping our ad agency secure different “sets” and locations for these political ads. Sounded easy enough to me. I mean, afterall, in my previous life, I used to find places to shoot stories on a daily basis.

This, however, is a whole different phenomenon. Turns out there’s a lot more that goes into the visual of an ad than I ever imagined. What makes the right set? Too dark, too light, too small, too contemporary, too shiny. That was my favorite. Hmmm…. Where to go next? I’ve taken the “scout” out on like a dozen different locations, and none seem to be what anyone is looking for.

It’s actually caused me a bit of a physical headache… but it’s all a learning process… and all part of this very important work we’re doing. I just think it’s something that no one really thinks about though. All the details… all the hard work… all the people it takes.

So, the next time you see that political ad during your favorite TV show, give an extra moment’s thought to all the work that went into making that 30 seconds a reality.

Thanks for reading. My headache is gone. Time to think of some more locations…. Oh yeah… I’m also in charge of wardrobe.