The College Republican National Committee released an advertisement on Oct. 1 promoting Rick Scott, a Republican candidate running for governor in Florida, which created a spat among the UA College Republicans and the UA Young Democrats on its appropriateness.
The ad released by the CRNC was a play off of the popular show “Say Yes To The Dress.” In the ad, a woman who had recently graduated college picked a candidate as if she were looking for a wedding dress. The ad used items like shawls and other accessories to depict tax rates and policies.
After the CRNC released its ad, the Democratic National Committee sent it a letter thanking it for “spending $1 million to show America just how out of touch Republicans are with young people.”
The letter continued on to describe the issues that the DNC was most proud to present, such as its stances on young women and access to education, healthcare and equal pay and downplayed the CRNC’s attempt to sway young voters.
The letter ended with, “Thanks for everything you do! It doesn’t go unnoticed across the aisle.”
Zoey Kotzambasis, a political science senior and chairwoman of the Arizona Federation of College Republicans, said she found the ad to be funny. She said that she believes that the Young Democrat’s response proves the CRNC’s ad’s efficacy.
“I think it’s a funny, innovative way to try to reach younger voters,” Kotzambasis said.
Kotzambasis said that she thinks that the Republican Party has a lot of work to do with reaching out to young women because it has always been a voter block that the party has had to deal with. She said this ad “could only help” stir up voters of that demographic.
Amber Hunt, a junior studying political science, Japanese and linguists and vice president of the Young Democrats, said that she was offended when she first viewed the video. She said that the CRNC’s use of targeting stereotypes in an effort to gain voters was a poor decision.
Hunt said that the CRNC should give young women more credit, and, while the ad is just a parody of a TV show, she wondered how much of a political message was really being conveyed. Overall, Hunt said she found the video frustrating and inappropriate. “College Republicans think that this ad is effective, but I think it’s a confusing and outdated way to try to appeal to young women,” Hunt said.
Hunt agreed with Kotzambasis that the GOP has a disconnect with young voters and said that the commercial displays CRNC and the GOP’s inability to reach to their target demographic.
Jenifer Wong, a marketing junior, said that while she didn’t personally love the ad, she did understand it from a marketing point of view. She said that the ad was stereotyping, and that ads that stereotype are often the ads that get the most attention.
“This kind of ad, when you see it, you’ll think of someone,” Wong said. “Maybe someone who watches ‘Say Yes To The Dress’ a lot. You’ll share that.”
Wong said that once voters head to the booths, they’ll vote for the name they remember, which just might be Rick Scott thanks to his new ad.
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