Will Selling The Common Core Like Beer And Tires Backfire?

Leonie Haimson posted that some unnamed billionaire has put up $240,000 to buy subway, bus and billboard ads selling the Common Core in NYC.

This "public awareness campaign" (i.e., propaganda campaign) follows on the heels of some not-so anonymous corporations selling Common Core via TV advertising during sporting events and the news.

Exxon Mobil, for example, advertised for the Common Core all throughout the Masters Golf Tournament over the weekend.

I wonder if this sort of thing won't backfire.

For example, some comments after the Exxon Mobil ads:

I'm generally a fan of #commoncore or at least neutral, but seeing @Exxon promote standards with TV ads makes me uneasy, skeptical (LINK)

Thought the Common Core conspiracy stuff was nuts, but now that Exxon's advertising for it ... (LINK)

Just saw a commercial by Exxon Mobil supporting the common core standards in education. Knew they were bad, this confirms it. (LINK)

This advertising blitz follows education reform/Common Core evangelists like NYSED Commissioner John King and NYCDOE Chancellor Dennis Walcott making the community rounds and preaching the Gospel of the Common Core Formative and Summative Assessments.

I wonder if that sort of thing won't backfire too.

When you have to sell something this hard, this much, it smacks of desperation and, frankly, failure.

As NYC Educator alludes to in his latest post, it gives off a New Coke or Edsel smell.

Or, since Bill Gates is so involved in the development and selling of the Common Core, it gives off a Windows Millenium, Windows Vista, Zune, exploding Xbox smell.

I dunno - maybe people will buy these propaganda, er, advertising campaigns.

Or maybe, just as they did with New Coke, the Edsel and any number of crappy Microsoft products, they'll take a pass.