Samuel M. Goldstein Productions Awarded National Industry Honor
Local video strategist, Samuel M. Goldstein won a Pollie Award in the category of Television – State Congress. The Pollie Awards, presented by the American Association of Political Consultants (AAPC), are the official awards of the industry and are considered “The Oscars” of political media.
The Winning entry was an election campaign commercial for NYS Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun (R) that depicted a child wearing a business suit throwing mud at a wall. The ad compared the campaign antics of Calhoun’s opponent to that of a “Childish Mudslinger.” Polling data suggests that the commercial immediately addressed and reversed any traction the opponents campaign was achieving.
“We wanted to do something that was a contrast ad, but didn’t leave the distaste of a negative ad,” said Amber Briscoe, the ad’s producer. “Understanding the public’s growing disdain for traditional attack ads, we really needed to come up with a novel and creative approach to making our point.”
“Researching the viscosity of mud and how it will look on-camera was one of the strangest challenges I’ve had,” said Director Samuel M. Goldstein, “But it was definitely fun to get our hands dirty on this project.”
Tony Fazio, president of the AAPC, said, “2008 was a huge year for campaigns at all levels. We broke our record, set last year, for most Pollie Award entries received.” Whit Ayres, incoming President, said, “What was most encouraging about this year’s Pollie Awards was the high quality of the work that our judges had to choose from. In both regards this was definitely the ceremony’s best year ever.”
The Pollies are the signature event of the AAPC’s annual conference where consultants from around the world and both sides of the aisle convene to learn about the latest trends in the industry, network, and have a little fun. Recently, the AAPC Pollie Awards have gained in notoriety outside the campaign industry. In 2008, the Pollie awards were featured in a two part episode on Comedy Central’s “The Dailey Show with John Stewart.”
Founded in 1969, the AAPC is a multi-partisan organization of political and public affairs professionals dedicated to improving democracy. The AAPC has over 1000 members hailing from all corners of the globe, including 2009 AAPC Campaign Strategist of the Year and Obama Administration Official David Axelrod. It is the largest association of political and public affairs professionals in the world. The AAPC began presenting the Pollie Awards in 1993.
