The ad below ran in USA Today Main News on November 5.

On the surface, the ad seems like a smart concept.  But the ad fails to account for the psychology of the American public the day after the historic day.  As such, it falls under the category of “Clever” but does not fall under the category of good.  

Where does the ad fail?

Over 64 million people voted for Barack Obama.  Ostensibly, most of those people were attracted to Obama because of his 21-month-long message that  “We are not a collection of Red States and Blue States — We are the United States of America”.  I was one of them who drank the purple kool aid.  I woke up on November 5 excited about the mere possibility that a new less-partisan political age was upon us.  66% of people under 30 years old voted for Obama.  I would imagine that The Sopranos’ sweet spot is in that demographic.  The ad turned me off on a day I was ready to embrace a new political landscape that at the very least is less devisive than it has been.

Does the ad resonate with the almost 57 million McCain (who also touched on a message of coming together) voters that woke up November 5 disappointed?  Maybe.

And maybe McCain voters are more likely to enjoy The Sopranos than Obama voters.

I think that even most McCain voters felt proud of the country for rallying together and electing the first black president–regardless of political affiliation.  The news of the day certainly was not about partisan divide.

The ad would have been more appropriate for 2004 when there was not such a message of unity from both campaigns.