Mr. Griffith, by contrast, harks back to the Great Society-era of 1965. “A lot of good things came out that year,” he says in the ad, “like Medicare.”

Part of this is generational: Harry and Louise appealed to families in their 30s and 40s; Griffith is talking to his contemporaries, seniors who remember the Great Society and Roosevelt’s New Deal before it.

Part of it is strategic: Medicare is reportedly spending an initial $700,000 to air the ad on Lifetime, The Weather Channel, and other senior-friendly channels in hopes of winning over seniors. Is it a coincidence that the midterm elections are only three months away?