A prominent anti-Hillary Clinton Super PAC released the second in a series of humorous ads appealing to millennial and women voters by taking aim at the Democratic nominee’s honesty and trustworthiness.
Earlier last month, the Defeat Crooked Hillary PAC released an ad depicting a young African-American actress unable to film a campaign ad calling Hillary Clinton “honest and trustworthy.”
That ad, titled “Cut,” garnered over half a million views online, in addition to its $350,000 ad buy in the crucial swing states of Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Now the PAC has released a sequel titled “Questions” featuring yet another actress unable to deliver the words “Hillary Clinton is honest and trustworthy” with the proper inflection, culminating in an argument between her and the director.
“I’m supporting Hillary Clinton because Hillary Clinton is honest and trustworthy?” the actress says.
We then hear the director off-camera shouting, “Cut! It’s not a question. It’s a statement.”
The actress continues to repeat the line about Clinton’s honesty and trustworthiness as if it’s a question and not a statement, before finally giving up and muttering, “Stupid script.”
The Defeat Crooked Hillary PAC is putting $500,000 behind the ad, which is aimed at swaying undecided voters in Florida. Like the first ad, this one appears micro-targeted at women and millennial voters in particular.
The 30-second spot will air in Florida’s 1-4 corridor television markets spanning from Tampa and Orlando to Daytona Beach.
Hogan Gidley, the PAC’s communications director, said that FBI Director James Comey’s decision last week to reopen the investigation into Clinton’s mishandling of classified emails while secretary of state makes this latest ad all the more timely.
“On the heels of FBI Director Comey reopening the investigation into Hillary’s corruption, ‘questions’ are exactly what voters have. That makes ‘Questions’ the perfect ad to run at this point in the election,” Gidley stated.
“First, digital media testing shows the ad’s theme – Hillary Clinton’s dishonesty and untrustworthiness – is effective at swaying male and female undecided voters away from voting for Hillary. Second, with millions of ads blanketing the airways, humor is a great way to cut through the campaign clutter and make the ad memorable. This ad accomplishes exactly that,” he added.
The PAC’s strategy of targeting Clinton’s honesty and trustworthiness appears to be bearing fruit. The latest Washington Post-ABC News Tracking Poll shows Republican nominee Donald Trump leading Clinton by 8 points, or 46 to 38 percent, on the issue of which candidate is “honest and trustworthy.”
