The Power of Maps

In the Milwaukee TV market (not sure about the rest of the State), two political ads are making heavy use of geography to support their cause. (Note I'm not discussing the issue of the ads, but rather the use of geography to create the message).

The ads can be viewed here. These are screen shots from each of the ads:











These can very easily be used as an exhibit in Mark Monmonier's book How to Lie With Maps, which discusses in detail how maps by nature are deceiving and are often used in both advertising and propaganda.

TV Spot 1 (arrows) show the location of the players in the issues. I think the arrows look like missile trajectories a'la WarGames. The message is that Wisconsin is being attached by outside interests.

TV Spot 2 (ooze) shows a growing blob around the existing and proposed locations. There's no mention of what the blob actually is (trade areas?) But the message is that they're "taking over" and the spread is ominous (like a time-series infection spread maps).

The creators of the ad used the most effective means to portray their interests - geography.