Ad Watch: Hanabusa Hits the TV Airwaves, Touts Local Upbringing
Editor鈥檚 Note: It’s an election year and that means lots of political commercials. Ad Watch is an occasional Civil Beat series in which we help you understand what you’re seeing and hearing when it comes to campaign messages from Hawaii candidates.
U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa really wants voters to know she comes from humble beginnings.
In her first TV spot in her bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, Hanabusa reminds viewers that she grew up in Waianae and that she maintains the values she learned growing up in a working class family.
The ad dovetails nicely with the congresswoman鈥檚 recent one-minute radio spot that conveys an identical message 鈥 that Hanabusa is a woman of the people.
First, take a look at the ad, which is titled 鈥淥bligation.鈥
The ad is high-quality and professional, which should be expected of someone running for higher office. It鈥檚 certainly a welcome addition to her campaign鈥檚 , which includes many videos from her previous run for office.
Hanabusa is all smiles in the TV spot as she visits her hometown, driving past her family鈥檚 gas station and chatting up the workers at a grocery store.
The slack key guitar in the background adds to the local vibe Hanabusa is trying to convey.
This is a different approach than the one Schatz has taken with his ads.
Like her radio spot 鈥 which has been playing in Hawaii for two weeks 鈥 there鈥檚 no mention of where the congresswoman stands on the issues. Instead, she focuses on the intangibles that she hopes will resonate with undecided voters in the Aug. 9 primary.
She also reiterates her pitch to lower and middle class voters by highlighting her modest upbringing in Waianae.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have many privileges,鈥 Hanabusa says in the ad. 鈥淏ut I learned from my parents, family and neighbors the values of Hawaii, how to work hard and do your best with every opportunity you have.鈥
As we鈥檝e said before, this is a different approach than the one Schatz has taken with his ads.
He鈥檚 mainly focused on issues, although he hasn鈥檛 been shy about showing off his family.
