Here it is, Obama’s 30 minute spot that aired on most major networks last night.

As for numbers, about 1 in 5 American households watched it. That is a lot.

I watched the Obama ad last night, and I was absolutely blown away. Some clarification: my professional background is in video editing. I’ve worked on pieces that have won Emmy Awards, and with producers who’ve won Emmy awards. I’ve done the gamut from fundraising pieces to used car ads. In my opinion, I think people are vastly underestimating the power and impact last night’s spot will have on people who watched it.

To the hyper-informed, it wasn’t much of anything new. To people tuning in late, with an open mind, I’m convinced it will seal the deal. Videos like these work; they can be sappy, schmaltzy, or manipulative, but there’s a long way to go before you cross any sort of line. As worn out as the word is, the hope delivered in the message last night is going to resonate with people.

He did two important things: he minimized his time on the screen and kept the focus on what he will do, not on what he has done. I don’t mean that in a sense that he wasn’t trying to puff himself up; he was trying to convince Americans on what needs to be done. Secondly, he never mentioned McCain once. He didn’t mention Bush by name, either. He kept the message positive throughout. If there was one thing I’d like to have seen more of, is a recap of all the failures of the past eight years. It’s been a long eight years, and we tend to forget just how terrible it was. It’s as if we’ve been overloaded with so much awfulness, we’ve tuned it out. Other than that, it was fantastic.

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