NBC is behind a potentially confusing political ad campaign to promote its new Washington-based drama “Mister Sterling.”
The show, set to debut in January, is about an improbable politician (played by Josh Brolin) who becomes a senator ala “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.”
With the Nov. 5 election looming, the network last week started airing two phony 15-second ads for the show about Brolin’s character, Sterling, which blend in with the barrage of real political advertising that is airing across the country.
The first ad is pro-Sterling and promotes the fictional candidate’s virtues as a Washington outsider. The second is an attack ad that purportedly comes from his opponent’s camp and rips Sterling’s trustworthiness.
In the positive ad, a warm-throated voice says:
“Bill Sterling doesn’t care about politics; he cares about America and he cares about freedom. Freedom from special interests. Freedom from partisan politics. Freedom from bureaucracy. And freedom to stand up for what he believes. Bill Sterling, for the people of the people. Paid for by people for ‘Mister Sterling.’ “
And in the first negative ad, a stern voice says:
“Bill Sterling has no experience in Washington, no party loyalty and no record on the issues. We don’t know who Bill Sterling is or what he believes in. One thing we do know is that he claims to be an independent, but is that what we really need? An independent thinker?”
Neither ad explains that the candidate does not exist or that a show called “Mr. Sterling” will air on NBC this winter.
NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker told Variety that the network’s legal department had vetted the ads and made sure that in the real world there were no Sterlings running for Senate.
“We just wanted to have a little fun before the election,” he said.