Foreign Policy Video - Planning Thread - Chainspell & FreeTraveler

[J_White]

I would like to mention how everyone we have supported of "liberated" have come back to bite us.
Support OBL against Russia - turns against us,
support Saddam against Iran - turns against us (or rather we turned against him for some reason).
support Libya "rebels" - AQ has increased influence there.
and how we meddled in Iran and got bitten there too.
Somehow emphasize how stupid this foreign policy is - better to be friends and have trade with other countries, than have wars !

 

[WD-NY]

I really appreciate all the love for this idea, and the ideas for other videos. But to get this one done, we still need some stuff.

Additional information we're looking for:

All candidates' federal foreign affairs experience, in years. Obama gets credit for his presidency, 4 years I guess. We need to know how long Ron's been on the House Foreign Affairs Committee counting to the end of his current term, and I think Bachmann is also on there. We'll need to research the rest of the candidates; Santorum may have some experience from the Senate. Not sure about Gingrich. Romney, Perry and Cain will get goose eggs.

The only clips we should include of other candidates is stuff that's unflattering

A catchy title and opening sequence idea. 3 seconds of time there.

Google definitely pushes SEO optimized youtube videos into the general results so I would definitely suggests going with something simple and to the point. Examples:

• "Ron Paul's Foreign Policy: Strength Through Peace"
• "Ron Paul's Foreign Policy: Strong on Defense"
• "Ron Paul: The 21st Century's Sun Tzu"

A powerful quote from Dr. Paul and wrapup for the video. We've allocated 10 seconds. Maybe something about his sane foreign policy and stable views.

Whatever it is.. please make sure it's GRUFF + STERN + GRAVE

Does a clip exist of RP saying something to the effect of 'do confuse my preference for peace as being soft on those that threaten our national security"

Stumbled on this youtube - great "bringing the troops home = stronger national defense" clip at 1:03


This video has the excellent delivering the lines ("We should declare war and win") said very gruffly during the 2008 debates (2:1

 

[Chainspell]

not so much this one, but just as light as this one:



these ones are nice:









The ad should state what he believes in. and it should subconsciously say that he's right. I like the apple ads coz it's not so much about what they're trying to sell, it's about what they believe.

I still can't believe that nike ad was only 2 minutes... that felt like 5 minutes worth of video I just saw.

 

[Chainspell]

just a rough text, I tried to write it nicely but I'm not the best with words, it takes me awhile to come up with what to say... so here's a quick one from my thoughts:

is there such a thing as liberty?
does liberty mean you can take whatever you want from other people?
does it mean you can do whatever you want in their homes?
liberty is about having respect for other people's liberty...
and not to trample, diminish or undermine their liberties.
(long pause)
does liberty mean the united states can do whatever it wants to promote it's interests wherever it wants?
does it mean that we always know what's best for other nations?
does it mean that we can kill civilians of other nations?
(long pause)
if there is such a thing as liberty...
we are far from it...
this is what we believe in, this is what ron paul believes.
(play clip of ron paul talking about foreign policy)

 

[FreeTraveler]

Ahhh... gotcha. "Here's to the Crazy Ones" type of approach. More marketing, less selling.

Nice start for a script, BTW. Now we need the clip that fits that script. And if we have other good clips, we can script specifically for them.

It's easier to extract the theme from the clip than to find a clip to fit a theme.

It really makes the process easier in some ways. Find a powerful clip of RPs, and then script the theme, rather than designing the sales job and trying to find the right pieces.

And on the flip side, those clips can also be used in "selling" videos.

We ended up putting off the move to friends until today, Chainspell, so I'll be out of touch for a good part of the day, but now I see what you're talking about. I'll be thinking about this while we're on the road.

 

[Chainspell]

Ahhh... gotcha. "Here's to the Crazy Ones" type of approach. More marketing, less selling.

Nice start for a script, BTW. Now we need the clip that fits that script. And if we have other good clips, we can script specifically for them.

It's easier to extract the theme from the clip than to find a clip to fit a theme.

It really makes the process easier in some ways. Find a powerful clip of RPs, and then script the theme, rather than designing the sales job and trying to find the right pieces.

And on the flip side, those clips can also be used in "selling" videos.

We ended up putting off the move to friends until today, Chainspell, so I'll be out of touch for a good part of the day, but now I see what you're talking about. I'll be thinking about this while we're on the road.

I mean only if you guys agree with me. I'm not even sure I'm right. It was just a thought.

 

[FreeTraveler]

I mean only if you guys agree with me. I'm not even sure I'm right. It was just a thought.

I think you're right. There's a real need for "sizzle-selling" with Ron Paul. That doesn't mean we can't use a couple of those sizzle videos to finish this steak one about foreign policy -- but we need some sizzle ones too. Imma gonna hit you up with a PM about a real sizzle-seller that doesn't fit in this thread.

 

[wistfulthinker]

I may be confused. Is this the script we're dealing with at present?

Is there such a thing as liberty?
does liberty mean you can take whatever you want from other people?
does it mean you can do whatever you want in their homes?
liberty is about having respect for other people's liberty...
and not to trample, diminish or undermine their liberties.
(long pause)
does liberty mean the united states can do whatever it wants to promote it's interests wherever it wants?
does it mean that we always know what's best for other nations?
does it mean that we can kill civilians of other nations?
(long pause)
if there is such a thing as liberty...
we are far from it...
this is what we believe in, this is what ron paul believes.
(play clip of ron paul talking about foreign policy)

If so, I guess I'd suggest tweaking the theme. Here the theme is liberty. But is liberty the hot button for the folks we want to reach? In my mind, for mainstream GOPers, liberty ain't it. I'm not saying it's not a beautiful, rousing word, but it's not the F.P. bit that makes primary voters go "huh." Everyone is for liberty. It's like cookies and grandmas and peace and choice. Everyone is for it; it doesn't mean anything. Liberty, I scream, and the crowd goes wild. Cookies, I scream, and the crowd goes wild. A F.P. video right now, for supervoters in Iowa and N.H. has got to speak to those voters. Everyone wants liberty. Right? Liberty isn't the word upon which the vote swings. It sounds good and signifies nothing of import here -- for these voters, for this mindset we need to engage.

What's the word? The phrase? Not this, I'm thinking.

And then the tone. Look at where and how "you" and "we" are placed. There's an us-vs.-them set up. Yes, it's subtle. But, also kinda allpowerful. I think there's this little guy in most supervoter's minds, who wants to see what would happen if we just chopped down the box we've been working inside F.P. wise. We don't want to provoke an us-vs.-them or let-us-convince-you notion. Rather a you-already-know-it notion. Assume. You know? Assume that folks just need justification for their little guy inside to stand up and say, "I was right all along." Play to that. We love to think we were right all along. Make us love ourselves for being right -- even if it was just a little guy agitating in our brains.

Speak to the audience.

 

[KingNothing]

just a rough text, I tried to write it nicely but I'm not the best with words, it takes me awhile to come up with what to say... so here's a quick one from my thoughts:

I've got so much respect for you and what you've done that I hesitate to even jump in here because you're obviously much better at this than I ever could be.... but...
Who is the audience here? An overwhelming majority of Republican voters view the nations that we've destroyed as The Enemy, and as such, they don't really view the people living in those nations the same way they view Americans. Your call to respect the rights of those living in far off lands might fall of def ears. Liberty matters.... but not when the people getting it live in Iraq.

I think what people care about is the economy. Jobs, taxes, and debt. That's what is on everyone's mind now. Our foreign policy has a direct effect on this things, and the pragmatist in me thinks you might have more success swaying voters to Paul if you focused on that, rather than the morality of military adventurism.

Another issue that seems important to Joe Republican is Israel. It might make sense to throw in a clip of Ron saying that he supported the Israeli's when they bombed Iraq in the 1980's, and that he'd support them again in the future if they decided that they had to defend themselves.

I think the intent of this is perfect: Paul says we should declare war, win and go home, save money and lives, and bring both back home to build our families and cities. You guys are definitely on to something by trying to capture that. I'd only add that people like happy ads that offer them hope, and that make them believe that whatever they're doing and thinking is good and correct.

 

[KingNothing]

I may be confused. Is this the script we're dealing with at present?

Is there such a thing as liberty?
does liberty mean you can take whatever you want from other people?
does it mean you can do whatever you want in their homes?
liberty is about having respect for other people's liberty...
and not to trample, diminish or undermine their liberties.
(long pause)
does liberty mean the united states can do whatever it wants to promote it's interests wherever it wants?
does it mean that we always know what's best for other nations?
does it mean that we can kill civilians of other nations?
(long pause)
if there is such a thing as liberty...
we are far from it...
this is what we believe in, this is what ron paul believes.
(play clip of ron paul talking about foreign policy)

If so, I guess I'd suggest tweaking the theme. Here the theme is liberty. But is liberty the hot button for the folks we want to reach? In my mind, for mainstream GOPers, liberty ain't it. I'm not saying it's not a beautiful, rousing word, but it's not the F.P. bit that makes primary voters go "huh." Everyone is for liberty. It's like cookies and grandmas and peace and choice. Everyone is for it; it doesn't mean anything. Liberty, I scream, and the crowd goes wild. Cookies, I scream, and the crowd goes wild. A F.P. video right now, for supervoters in Iowa and N.H. has got to speak to those voters. Everyone wants liberty. Right? Liberty isn't the word upon which the vote swings. It sounds good and signifies nothing of import here -- for these voters, for this mindset we need to engage.

What's the word? The phrase? Not this, I'm thinking.

And then the tone. Look at where and how "you" and "we" are placed. There's an us-vs.-them set up. Yes, it's subtle. But, also kinda allpowerful. I think there's this little guy in most supervoter's minds, who wants to see what would happen if we just chopped down the box we've been working inside F.P. wise. We don't want to provoke an us-vs.-them or let-us-convince-you notion. Rather a you-already-know-it notion. Assume. You know? Assume that folks just need justification for their little guy inside to stand up and say, "I was right all along." Play to that. We love to think we were right all along. Make us love ourselves for being right -- even if it was just a little guy agitating in our brains.

This is a really wonderful post.

It seems like Paul has a monopoly on intelligent supporters.

 

[WD-NY]

I mean only if you guys agree with me. I'm not even sure I'm right. It was just a thought.

Personally, I think this is a fantastic idea - especially if you're excited about it (bc you're the one who is doing all of the heavy lifting at the end of the day)

As for clips that could play well within a theme that's more "show" than "tell" (re: 'here's to the crazy ones'), how about connecting Paul to some of the great leaders/minds of the past through the stitching together of statements/speeches they've made that are echoed in the statements/speeches of Paul?

There's definitely something magical/powerful about being able to connect a person (or in Apple's case, a brand) to historical figures whose spirit/ideas have become legend.

As for the message, I like the change in direction you've made (though agree with wistfulthinker that "Liberty ain't it"). My only question is: how will the historical clips of great american leaders championing the very same message as Paul be fit in between each riff? Really short statements ftw? Americans like having famous speeches distilled down to a single statement/sentence or two (e.g. "Ask not what your country can do for you...") so no worries there (sidepoint: Ron Paul supporters seem to enjoy super long sound-bytes over super short clips - go figure! lol)

So the video could play clip after clip of great leaders that everyone knows/respects/reveres... echoing Paul (though the viewer wouldn't know it because Paul doesn't appear until the very end of the video), and in between those short clips is the overlay of your copy... and this continues to the very last section, which is either a single clip of Paul or multiple clips of Paul championing the very same ideas said by the great leaders before him.

I think that several clips will generate a more powerful reaction than just closing the video with one primarily because:

• part of Paul's greatness lies in the consistency of his convictions. Using only a single clip (even one as epic as "I'm not trying to win an election, I'm trying to change history") probably isn't enough to get viewers to compare Paul affirmatively to the leaders shown during the first 3/4 of the video (even if they're saying the same things).

• what makes Paul so different and impressive is how consistent his message has been - this is an asset that should always be leveraged so that it eventually becomes an 'assumed adjective' whenever Paul gets mentioned (sort of like how everyone says "he's obviously super smart/intelligent" when discussing Newt).

• any politician can say something 'great and true' once... but few (any?) can say something great and true in 1988, 1998, 2008 and 20011 (or whatever the dates are for the clips you end up using).

Long story short - connect Paul to the great generals/americans of the past in a way that gives openminded GOP "super voters" mental 'cover' for supporting his FP instead of the warmongering Romney & Gingrich. Bonus points if the video goes beyond 'cover' and actually makes them feel "vindicated" for feeling that the endless wars have actually made our country weaker and less secure.

 

[Chainspell]

I may be confused. Is this the script we're dealing with at present?

Is there such a thing as liberty?
does liberty mean you can take whatever you want from other people?
does it mean you can do whatever you want in their homes?
liberty is about having respect for other people's liberty...
and not to trample, diminish or undermine their liberties.
(long pause)
does liberty mean the united states can do whatever it wants to promote it's interests wherever it wants?
does it mean that we always know what's best for other nations?
does it mean that we can kill civilians of other nations?
(long pause)
if there is such a thing as liberty...
we are far from it...
this is what we believe in, this is what ron paul believes.
(play clip of ron paul talking about foreign policy)

If so, I guess I'd suggest tweaking the theme. Here the theme is liberty. But is liberty the hot button for the folks we want to reach? In my mind, for mainstream GOPers, liberty ain't it. I'm not saying it's not a beautiful, rousing word, but it's not the F.P. bit that makes primary voters go "huh." Everyone is for liberty. It's like cookies and grandmas and peace and choice. Everyone is for it; it doesn't mean anything. Liberty, I scream, and the crowd goes wild. Cookies, I scream, and the crowd goes wild. A F.P. video right now, for supervoters in Iowa and N.H. has got to speak to those voters. Everyone wants liberty. Right? Liberty isn't the word upon which the vote swings. It sounds good and signifies nothing of import here -- for these voters, for this mindset we need to engage.

What's the word? The phrase? Not this, I'm thinking.

And then the tone. Look at where and how "you" and "we" are placed. There's an us-vs.-them set up. Yes, it's subtle. But, also kinda allpowerful. I think there's this little guy in most supervoter's minds, who wants to see what would happen if we just chopped down the box we've been working inside F.P. wise. We don't want to provoke an us-vs.-them or let-us-convince-you notion. Rather a you-already-know-it notion. Assume. You know? Assume that folks just need justification for their little guy inside to stand up and say, "I was right all along." Play to that. We love to think we were right all along. Make us love ourselves for being right -- even if it was just a little guy agitating in our brains.

Speak to the audience.

yes I agree with you, and you made excellent points about what you said in the end. I think that's the direction we need to approach.

 

[Chainspell]

I'd only add that people like happy ads that offer them hope, and that make them believe that whatever they're doing and thinking is good and correct.

agreed 100%!!! except for the last part coz that sounds really challenging... haha how do you tell people theyre wrong without telling them they're wrong? I guess we really don't have to tell them that they're wrong

 

[wistfulthinker]

I guess we really don't have to tell them that they're wrong

You're right! Doesn't that feel good. We all have a dozen little ideas floating around in our brains at any one time. A message that says, "You were right" is a psychologically confirming message. You know that notion that you want to leave your opponent with an escape route? A "golden bridge" to retreat across? The message needs to incorporate the bridge -- the easy way to just change your mind without having to say you were wrong. You know?

I'm thinking a good clump of folks want to retreat from our F.P. but few want to admit we were wrong or that we've wasted resources and lives. Truth is we don't need them to. Right? We need a more next-step oriented rhetoric here. Like KingNothing said, no one has to be wrong to make the next step right. That's the bridge.

 

[hogsfan90]

bump for any updates on progress