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Meretz Is a Lost Child on the Internet
Image by Yotam Perel
Digital Fellow Lior Zaltzman January 26, 2015
Still from Yotam Perel
Say what you will about Naftali Bennett's "I'm Not Sorry" viral ad campaign — we certainly did. But one thing you can't deny is that it was smartly done. Bennett's ad was internet-savvy and in touch with its target audience.
The same cannot be said for Meretz's latest ad campaign. I wish I could tell you exactly what goes on in it, but all I can do is use my finest army intelligence training to try and surmise. The gang from Meretz appear to be crashing (not very convincingly) a wedding party and breaking out into dance to the balkan beat of Meretz's new jingle (you guys, balkan beats are so 2011). No one is looking at the camera and everyone seems embarrassed to be there. It feels like my cousin's bar-mitzvah.
The head of the party, Zehava Galon, is a bar-mitzvah aunt, jumping from side to side with eyes glazed, awkwardly mumbling along with the lyrics. Galon can't even handle her vodka shots. So how can she handle another four years as a political party head?
The music is as embarrassing as the visuals, with tacky lyrics like "I'll just have good times, not bad times, everything is possible, it's just a matter of choice" and "Let's stop the hate and choose love." And the balkan beat is a conscious PC choice, so as not to make the ad feel too Ashkenazi or too Sephardic. The result is this lackluster, dated song.
Meretz, after all, is filled with good intentions. They're staying away from inflammatory and derogatory ads. Everyone from the Likud to the Zionist Block have been up to the usual pre-election mud-slinging and Meretz wants to set itself apart. "Suckers" is what Hipster Naftali Bennett would say, along with a bunch of Israelis. And suckers is a very nice name when compared to some of the name-calling directed at the Israeli left recently, especially in the wake of the recent Gaza war.
I understand that Meretz wants to be good. It just has to be better at being good. Meretz is all that's left in the Israeli left.
And Meretz does have accomplishments to tout. You don't have to look too hard to see that they are the most pro-gay party there is. They are constantly rated the number one party for workers' rights. They are very strong when it comes to human rights as well. Galon is a great politician and she gets things done. So why does every Meretz video feel so awkward and ill-fitting?
Bottom line: Meretz needs to fire whoever is in charge of their PR, pronto. And I've got a suggestion for a new hire: animator Yotam Perel, the guy who made the following spoof of the Meretz campaign video. In less than 20 seconds, his animation managed to be more evocative — definitely more weirdly mesmerizing — than anything Zehava has managed to put forth so far. Here, see for yourself:
Post by Yotam Perel.
Lior Zaltzman was the Forward's Digital Fellow. Follow her on twitter @liorca.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward. Discover more perspective in Opinion.
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