Now that Mitt Romney has picked his Weinermobile-driving running mate, election season is in full swing.
In Florida, scare tactics are underway for the State Senate seat in Florida's 22nd District, and they involve autonomous cars and scared senior citizens.
The candidates for the seat are Jeff Brandes and Jim Frishe. Both are Republicans and both want to win. Badly.
Brandes has supported legislation to allow autonomous cars on the roads. Now, a political action committee, the Committee to Protect Florida, has released an add with an autonomous Prius running amuck and a very concerned sounding elderly voiceover.
She is the "I've fallen and I can't get up" lady for the 21st century. A poster child for the elderly. It's also a non-satirical version of the "Old Glory Robot Insurance" ad from Saturday Night Live.
The ad states that these are "driverless, remote controlled cars," which is patently wrong. These cars are not close to being remote controlled, which can be a positive or a negative depending on who you ask. There's also a driver in the front seat to override when things go wrong.
But even though the facts are a little off, it's a brilliant bit of advertising. The ad plays right to Brandes' base, the elderly Floridians of St. Petersburg, a group not known for being super tech savvy. This should scare the living crap out of them.
Well, hopefully not the living crap, Brandes needs their votes.
(Hat Tip to @johnvoelcker!)