Back in early September, CARLY for America circulated buzz on an upcoming documentary about dark horse presidential candidate Carly Fiorina. They knew that, in spite of a favorable image with the oft-polled American public, more people needed to hear the story of the only female Republican presidential candidate.
They released a trailer, and it made a splash in the conservative media. Before September’s CNN debate, Carly Fiorina was an enigma; we’d seen her before, but we’d never seen her perform the way she did in the Fox News “undercard” debate.
In the wake of her breakout performance in the CNN debate, even conservatives who felt loyalty for another candidate had to admit that Carly was earning the attention given to her by the national media. Her “secretary to CEO” story was resonating—and that presented an opening for critics to hack away at it.
A recent WaPo “fact check” on the “secretary to CEO” narrative appeared so slanted to readers it earned backlash warranting an explainer/walk-back from the columnist as well as the Post’s editors. The article hurt (as all major outlet articles can do) but it also teed up a perfect opportunity for Fiorina’s backers to release the full-length documentary on the candidate’s life.
Today, the full “Citizen Carly” documentary was released—and it’s great:
Citizen Carly (2015) – Final from CARLY for America on Vimeo.
I have a soft spot for campaigns and PACs who excel at storytelling, and CARLY for America has earned a gold star rating from me for this video spot. It answers questions voters have about Carly (Why was she fired from HP? for example) but also offers a ton of quotes, testimonials, and other tidbits that actually invite fact checkers to dig further. It also serves as a strong rebuttal against a narrative that the media has become particularly attached to.
“The liberal media have been desperately trying to paint a false narrative of Carly’s life and leadership experiences,” said CARLY for America Communications Director Katie Hughes in a statement to Legal Insurrection. “What’s clear is these pundits don’t know Carly. We are setting the record straight by telling the true and full story. I encourage everyone to watch this film to see why we need Carly in the White House.”
Overall, “Citizen Carly” is a confident production that invites voters and the media alike to take a second, third, or 15th look at Carly Fiorina’s candidacy—which is exactly what Carly’s backers need to happen at this stage in the cycle.
Follow Amy on Twitter @ThatAmyMiller
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