MSNBC Promo . . . or Obama Ad?

June 2nd, 2008 7:10 AM

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With its talk of "change" and images of folks from the Dem demographic, was this an MSNBC promo . . . or an Obama ad? Check out this spot, aired today just before the start of Morning Joe.

VOICEOVER [which I believe is that of Joe Scarborough]: A revolution that happens for us every four years is a quiet revolution that begins and ends at the ballot box. It's the American voter that goes in, and makes a very simple choice that can change the country and change the world.

As screen graphic rolls: "That's why You Care, That's Why We Cover It," cut to images of MSNBC personalities: Scarborough, Lester Holt, Tim Russert, Chris Matthews, Andrea Mitchell, Tom Brokaw, Brian Williams, Keith Olbermann, Tucker Carlson, Norah O'Donnell, David Gregory, Ron Allen, Kelly O'Donnell.

VOICEOVER [different, professional voice]: MSNBC--the place for politics.

Here were the voters whose images were shown:

  • Chubby guy in a T-shirt and shades wearing some kind of strange hat [horns?] holding a US flag over his head, amidst a sea of other flags.
  • Younger black woman holding a "Vote Here" placard.
  • White woman, looking to be in her 70s.
  • Younger black man, perhaps late 20s. The focus is on him, but after viewing the spot a couple more times I noticed there was an older white male, perhaps in his 70s, out of focus, in the foreground.
  • A young father with a Latino look, sporting a beard, holding a young girl, presumably his daughter, on his shoulders.

So . . . MSNBC promo, or Obama ad? Or is there any difference?