Episode 20: I Love Gadgets, Until…

2 Comments

1. Alexander Vasquez says:

   October 16, 2008 at 10:45 pm

   RE: Obama commercial geek squad guy–I am a middle school government teacher in Iowa and attended an Obama rally in July 2007. Several of my students have approached me over the past few days about an Obama ad which I am trying to find that seems to show me–wireframed glasses, cloth cap and Geek Squad shirt. The kids cannot describe the ad any better than “It’s an Obama ad and you’re in it, we know your Geek Squad shirt and hat”. This is a bit of a problem since I am supposed to have a politically-neutral classroom and the ad suggests a political bias that I may or may not have; I was only at the rally to learn about him (as I did all the other major candidates, GOP and Dem) to pass on to my students. If you can please send me a description of the ad, as best as you can, I would appreciate it. Also, the shirt wasn’t product placement, just the only clean shirt I had that day (was visiting family). Alexander Vasquez

2. kevin says:

   October 16, 2008 at 11:15 pm

   I wish I could give you exacting details about the commercial, but It flashed by on TV last night so quickly. All I really noticed was the Geek Squad t-shirt in the commercial. I couldn’t tell you if the person was wearing a hat or glasses. It looked to be an outdoor campaign appearance. I think that Obama had his back to the screen, and the Geek Squad T-shirt was toward the front of the crowd on the left hand side.

   The commercial ran between 7 and 8pm on Nashville’s CBS affiliate WTVF. I tweeted about it on Twitter at 7:44pm, so I’m betting it ran about 7:30pm during the local commercial break. I don’t want to send you on a wild goose chase, but you might be able to find out more about the commercial by calling them. Their main switchboard is (615) 244-5000. When you talk to the switchboard, ask for the “traffic” department. They should be able to assist you further. When you talk to the traffic manager you’ll want to ask them about an Obama commercial that ran on Wednesday, October 15th around 7:30pm. Each commercial is assigned a code or name in their system, and you’ll need that information to be able to track it down. With that info you should be able to contact the nearest Obama campaign headquarters for details on where or how you can view it.

   With over 25 years in the media, I was shocked they would include a shot showing a shirt like that without “fuzzing out” the logo. I wish I could offer more assistance, but that’s all I can remember. Good luck in your search. Let me know if you find it, and if it’s you!