After watching one of Tim Pawlenty’s flashy campaign videos, political-ad buffs may be thinking, “I’ve seen this movie before.”
That’s because Lucas Baiano, Pawlenty’s filmmaker, is reusing old sound bites and video clips in the governor’s ads. Before he joined Pawlenty’s campaign, Baiano worked for the Republican Governors Association, and if you squint through the flashing lights — or pause your video player — you see some pretty similar scenes in the RGA’s ads.
For instance, at the 0:16 mark in Pawlenty’s ad, “A New Direction,” you hear a woman wailing: “You got people and families out here in the United States that are struggling.”
The same shots appear in both videos too, albeit at different angles or in varying hues. For example, you see a notice about 500,000 new unemployment-insurance claims in Pawlenty’s video at the 0:24 mark and in the RGA’s ad at the 1:09 mark.
You see the national-debt clock 13 seconds into Pawlenty’s ad and two minutes and 20 seconds into the RGA’s.
You also see a shot of an unemployment line in both ads: 0:23 in Pawlenty’s, 1:56 in the RGA’s.
Like a good fiscal conservative, Baiano knows how to recycle.