Early Campaign Videos (January-June 2011)

Before the ad wars started campaigns and exploratory committees produced plenty of web videos to spread the candidates' messages.  The purposes and styles of these videos varied widely.  Among the most interesting are launch videos in which a candidate introduces himself or herself and sets out a rationale for his or her candidacy.  These hark back to the days when campaigns distributed videocasettes.  Other videos tie in with fundraising efforts.  Videos from the Pawlenty camp were notable for rather over-the-top swelling music and frenetic edits, likely an attempt to compensate for what some saw as the candidate's bland persona.  The Huntsman campaign and Fred Davis did some interesting artistic videos based on Huntsman riding a motorcycle through some very scenic Utah countryside; these were also notable for a "bullet point" style of narration which strung a lot of key words together but did have its limitations.  At least in this early phase, the Huntsman campaign seemed to place the most emphasis on videos.  On launch their website included a passel of issue videos, with Huntsman talking directly to the camera on a number of topics; this was not seen on other sites.  Huntsman's campaign also started out posting some brief, less than 30-second "Daily Videos."  Romney's team produced some fairly classy "On the Trail" videos, as well as some more pointed "Bump in the Road" videos.  Roemer and Johnson, excluded from debates, used videos to present their responses.  The Obama re-election campaign produced a couple of videos featuring top staffers and PowerPoint (R) presentations that convey a sense of a behind-the-scenes look at the campaign.  Finally, although he ended up not being a candidate, Donald Trump had some very effective videos of himself talking to the camera for several minutes on topics of the day.
With assistance from Mike Dec, 4president.org.

LAUNCH VIDEOS
Bachmann for President - "I'm Running for President" (June 13, 2011).
Friends of Herman Cain - "Presidential Announcement Video" (May 21, 2011).
Newt 2012 - "It's Official: Newt Gingrich is Running for President!" (May 11, 2011).
Jon Huntsman for President - suite of five videos "Different," "About Jon," "Jon's Years as Governor," "An Authentic Conservative," and "Jon's Business Experience" (June 21, 2011).
Pawlenty for President - "A Time for Truth" (Preview of Monday's Announcement) (May 22, 2011).
Romney for President Exploratory Committee - "Believe in America" (April 11, 2011).
Rick Santorum for President - "Senator Santorum reflects on the freedom that brought his Grandfather to America" (June 5, 2011 - web video).
Obama for America  - "It Begins with Us" (April 4, 2011).


DEMOCRAT
Obama for America
"Dinner with Barack Just Got More Interesting" (June 27, 2011 - web video).
"Meet Alex: A Dad and a Summer Organizer" (June 19, 2011 - web video).
"Strategy Update: What We're Building This Summer" (May 27, 2011 - web video).
"Time to begin again" (April 28, 2011 - fundraising email video).
"Obama 2012 Strategy Briefing" (April 25, 2011 - web video).
"It Begins with Us" (April 4, 2011 - web video).


REPUBLICANS
Bachmann for President
"National Town Hall" (June 29, 2011 - web video).
"My Time in Waterloo" (June 28, 2011 - web video).
"I'm Running for President" (June 13, 2011 - web video).
Bachmann for Congress
"Michele's Money Bomb to Make Barack Obama a One-Term President" (May 25, 2011 - web video).


Friends of Herman Cain
"Pledge Your Support for A Real Leader" (June 13, 2011 - web video).
"America Is Ready" (June 5, 2011 - web video).
"The Herman Cain Train Music Video" (May 31, 2011 - web video).
"Presidential Announcement Video" (May 21, 2011 - web video).
"Is America Ready for Common Sense Solutions?" (May 18, 2011 - web video).
"I've Never Seen Anything Like This" (May 11, 2011 - web video).
"The water tastes the same" (March 24, 2011 - web video).


Newt 2012
"Newt: I oppose the Obamacare mandate. Period" (May 16, 2011 - web video).
"It's Official: Newt Gingrich is Running for President!" (May 11, 2011 - web video).


Jon Huntsman for President
Daily Videos (June 22, 2011 onward - web video).
"Different" (June 21, 2011 - web video).
"About Jon" (June 21, 2011 - web video).
"Jon's Years as Governor" (June 21, 2011 - web video).
"An Authentic Conservative" (June 21, 2011 - web video).
"Jon's Business Experience" (June 21, 2011 - web video).
various issues and subjects (June 21, 2011 - web videos).
Jon Huntsman
"6 Days," "4 Days," "Tomorrow" (June 15, June 17, and June 20, 2011 - web videos).


Gary Johnson 2012
"Gov. Gary Johnson Responds To Every Question Asked In CNN Debate He Was Excluded From" (June 15, 2011 - web video).
"Tell CNN" (June 8, 2011 - web video).


Sarah PAC
"American Foundation" (June 8, 2011 - web video). +
"One Nation" (May 27, 2011 - web video).
"America's Enduring Strength" (Jan. 12, 2011 - web video).


Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee, Inc.
"A personal appeal from Ron Paul" (June 27, 2011 - web video).


Pawlenty for President
"CNN, NH Debate" (June 13, 2011 - web video).
"Governor Pawlenty Offers America The 'Better Deal' For Economy" (June 10, 2011 - web video).
"Behind-the-scenes at Governor Pawlenty's Official Announcement" (May 31, 2011 - web video).
"Truth Tour: NYC Debt Clock" (May 27, 2011 - web video).
"A Time for Truth" (Preview of Monday's Announcement) (May 22, 2011 - web video).
Pawlenty for President Exploratory Committee
"The American Promise - New Hampshire/Boston Tea Party Rally" (April 19, 2011 - web video).
"A New Direction" (April 4, 2011 - web video).
Exploratory Committee Visual Announcement (March 21, 2011 - web video).
Freedom First PAC
"T-Paw in New Hampshire" (March 15, 2011 - web video).
"Tea Party: A New Birth of Freedom" (Feb. 28, 2011 - web video).


Roemer 2012 Exploratory Committee
NH GOP Debate Responses (June 14, 2011 - web videos).
SC GOP Debate Responses (May 6, 2011 - web videos).


Romney for President
"Obama Isn't Working: Allentown, PA" (June 30, 2011 - web video).
"He's Right" (June 24, 2011 - web video).
"Obama Misery Index: Ryan's Story" (June 24, 2011 - web video).
"20,000,000 Bumps in the Road" (June 16, 2011 - web video).
"Mitt on the Road: Challenging President Obama on the Economy" (June 14, 2011 - web video).
"Bump in the Road" (June 12, 2011 - web video).
"Mitt on the Road: Detroit, MI" (June 10, 2011 - web video).
"Mitt on the Road: New Hampshire Town Hall" (June 9, 2011 - web video).
"In America: Anything is Possible" (June 6, 2011 - web video).
"Announcement: Stratham, NH" (June 3, 2011 - web video).
"Stand with Mitt" (June 2, 2011 - web video).
Romney for President Exploratory Committee
"Believe in America" (April 11, 2011 - web video).
Free and Strong America PAC (Mitt Romney)
"Behind the Scenes with Governor Romney at the Carroll County Lincoln Day Dinner" (March 6, 2011 - web video).
"Believe in America: Behind the Scenes at CPAC" (Feb. 15, 2011 - web video). 


Rick Santorum for President
"Today" (June 21, 2011 - web video).
"Senator Santorum reflects on the freedom that brought his Grandfather to America" (June 5, 2011 - web video).


Fred Karger for President
"Tyrannosaurus Rex" (June 13, 2011 - video/TV ad, Des Moines, IA and NH).
"Demon Frisbee" (May 7, 2011 - video/TV ad, NH).
Fred Karger Presidential Exploratory Committee
"Independence Day" (Nov. 23, 2010 - video/TV ad, IA).
Rights Equal Rights
"Battle of Concord 2011" (Jan. 28, 2011 - TV ad, NH).


Andy Martin for President
anti-Obama spot (Feb. 24, 2011 - NH).


Donald Trump
"From The Desk Of Donald Trump" (Feb. 15-April 7, 2011 - web videos).


Randall Terry for President
Protype Ad for Super Bowl 2012 (web video).


Independent
Student Initiative to Draft Daniels PAC
"The Deficit Is Too Damn High" (Feb. 9, 2011 - web video).
"My Man Mitch" (Jan. 30, 2011 - IA; Feb. 4, 2011 - NH).

Students for Mitt Romney PAC
"Restoring the American Dream" (April 11, 2011 - web video).



Political Parties
Democratic National Committee
"Litmus Test" (May 20, 2011 - web video).

Republican National Committee
"Hope Isn't Hiring" (April 4, 2011 - web video).

National Republican Senatorial Committee
"President Barack Obama's First Ad of 2012" (April 1, 2011 - web video).