Missing From The New State ObamaCare Ads: Any Actual Information

A few weeks ago, Oregon unveiled their ads promoting ObamaCare. Instead of telling people how to sign up or what the law would mean for them, they proceeded with thirty seconds of cartoons involving flying guitars and a farmer riding a carrot—all to the strains of a folk song.

Now Bloomberg’s Claire Suddath is profiling a trend among the commercials. It appears many more ads avoid mentioning the law they’re trying to promote. They instead rely on creative license and get nothing about the actual law across to viewers.

“Ad agencies around the country have come to the conclusion that, when pitching Obamacare, pretty pictures, upbeat tunes, and humor are a safer play than numbers, details, or anything that conjures the term ‘Obamacare.’ Covered California’s commercials look as if they’ve been run through an Instagram filter.

‘The most eye-catching campaign, out of Washington State, features people who fall victim to hilarious freak accidents caused by a mischievous girl named Chance. In one, a raccoon jumps out of a trash can and attacks a terrified woman.”

Suddath goes on to interview the head of the Washington health exchanges who exclaims, “Isn’t the raccoon awesome?” He then goes on to explain his philosophy with the ads saying he “wanted something ‘crazy and memorable,’ like Apple’s iPhone ads. ‘Do they spend the whole time telling you how many apps they have? No. They just make it look cool.’”

While I’m thrilled that these wannabe Don Drapers could find an outlet for their creativity, flying raccoons and folk songs aren’t telling the real story. The story that includes lower wages, lost jobs, and higher premiums.

We owe it to the American people to be honest with them about the effects of this law. You can document instance after instance where the White House has broken a promise it made during the selling of the law (if you like your plan, you can keep it) or is just downright misleading (yesterday, after President Obama vowed not to delay any other parts of ObamaCare, the administration delayed online enrollment for small businesses).

Enough with the ads that are too cute by half. It’s time the American people got the truth.