Here in Los Angeles, the County Health Department rates restaurants with “A,” “B,” “C” or Fail.

As my friend Phil Hatten points out, a bad politician can do as at least as much damage to the political system as a bad burrito can do to your system.

So I’m going to spread your idea around. Here’s hoping others who read this will do the same.

-Scott G

I just came across your article “Playing by a Lack of Rules” about political ads on advertisingindustrynewswire.com. I would like to comment.

I too have had enough of the lies and misdirection’s in political advertising. It reached a new low this go around I believe and makes me think it will only get worse and worse. But I have a possible solution I’d like to float by you.

At first I sent an email to my local state rep. about writing a bill but then decided this would probably be done better and faster in the private sector if possible.

I propose a grading/rating system for all political ads – print, TV, radio, etc. Motion Pictures have the MPAA, and although it is imperfect, most people know what to expect between a PG and R rated film.

I think each political advertisement should be graded “A” to “F” based on factual accuracy and it’s intent to be honest and truthful. The grade can be posted at the top so people can see whether they should pay any attention. And a simple grading system will be easy for everyone to understand.

We can’t simply refuse to air misleading ads, as it would be unconstitutional. But grading the ads could enhance or reduce their effectiveness.

I send you this because I am a reality TV editor with very little knowledge of the advertising and broadcast side of the business. I would like to see if someone with a better knowledge of the political ad industry would think this idea could work.

If there is an association of all the “major player” ad agencies that could draft up and adopt a grading system and set up an independent panel to grade the ads, that would be a starting point. But then you would need to get the broadcasters to adopt these standards and enforce them so that small time operators couldn’t get around it.

If you have time could you give me some feedback on this idea and some advice on how to move forward?

Thanks for your time,

Tim Warner