Is it really shocking for commercials to use actors? According to ABC News, yes. A headline for the ABCNews.com article trumpeted, "Koch Brothers Ad Attacking [Democratic Senator] Mary Landrieu Uses Paid Actors." Rather than investigate the continued failings of ObamaCare, writer Jordyn Phelps hyped the fact that the commercials sponsored by the Koch brothers feature stand-ins, writing, "But the people in the emotion-evoking ad are not Louisianans at all; they are paid actors."
Phelps continued, "The ad shows a number of people, who appear to be Louisianans, opening their mail to find a letter stating that their health care policy has been cancelled because of the Affordable Care Act." The commercial features scenes of children running to a mailbox. It seems fairly obvious that such images were filmed and weren't caught accidentally.
Landrieu’s support for the Affordable Care Act is a major sticking point in what promises to be a tough reelection campaign for the three-term senator. And her campaign is taking issue with the ad, characterizing its use of actors as "misleading" and "low."
"Hiring professional actors to impersonate Louisiana families is low even for the billionaire Koch brothers," Friends of Mary Landrieu Campaign Manager Adam Sullivan told ABC News.
"If the Koch brothers had even a shred of credibility before launching their latest misleading ad campaign against Sen. Landrieu, they’ve surely lost it now."
The reporter did include a quote from an Americans for Prosperity spokesman. Levi Russell called the commercial "cinematic" and "representative of Americans from all walks of life."
Rather than focus on commercials, ABC could have been covering all the setbacks ObamaCare has seen in recent months. But the news outlet has largely ignored them.
