by Patrick Ruffini
The Next Right // thenextright.com
As the GOP at the national level seems to fall into a state of self-inflicted depression, and particularly about its prospects online, it's good to see some GOP Congressional candidates who can actually think outside the box. Three in particular have broken out with next generation online presences.
In a race Soren spotlighted yesterday, the Rothenberg Political Report highlighted a particularly clever use of the medium. In IL-11, GOP candidate Marty Ozinga snapped up the URL IamNotaPolitician.com and is using it to feature a high resolution video that plays directly off paid advertising. The campaign is using all the resources at its disposal, TV, online advertising, and signage, to drive to the site.
The site itself is very striking. The words I AM... placed next to a video, starting on "I Am Not a Politician" and ending with "I Am Committed." This defies almost every piece of conventional wisdom about political web design. The site is almost a perfect roadblock. It mentions the main site address (www.martyozinga.com) but doesn't link to it until the very end.
Though the page could honestly have used a simple registration box, I've got to admire the boldness and the discipline behind sticking with such a minimalist concept. It shows that online video doesn't have to be a tiny, blurry YouTube box, but can look good, be well-produced, and tell a story. I particularly like the thumbing of noses at every campaign manager who *swears* that unlike every other district in America, all the people in their district are all on dialup (you know who you are...).
