At first glance, it's just yet another political attack ad using China as a scapegoat. Rep. Zack Space (D-OH) recently tried to highlight Republican opponent Bob Gibbs' support for unfettered free trade deals, which of course leads to thousands of jobs lost to -- where else? -- China. But watch closely to see how this ad fails hard:
Wait... Why does Space's ad include a shot of (Asian) Americans celebrating in a Chinese New Year parade in San Francisco? That's some serious B-roll fail: Rep. Space Runs Ad Supposedly Depicting China With Video Of Asian Americans In San Francisco.
A recent ad sponsored by Space depicts a scene the narrator calls “China.” In fact, the scene from the ad appears to be a shot of Asian Americans celebrating in the Chinese New Year parade in San Francisco (00:23 in the video):Yup. You know that shot they use when the narrator says "...as they say in China..."? With the lion dancers? It's just a bunch of Asian American folks hanging out on Sutter Street in China. There's a damn H & M store in the background. Good ol' China. (Yes, I'm well aware that there are H & M stores in China. You get the idea.)
NARRATOR: We've lost 91,000 jobs to China through unfair trade deals like NAFTA - the kind of deals Gibbs wants more of.
GIBBS: I'm a free trader.
NARRATOR: 91,000 jobs. As they say in China, xie xie Mr. Gibbs!
Whoever put this video together was being a lazy ass... or maybe it's just all the same to them. You know -- China, San Francisco. Lots of Orientals standing in a crowded place. Lion dancers, or some other kind of crazy Chinese thing. What's the difference?