Televised Ads in Presidential Campaigns- Part 5

The 2004 campaign was the first to experience viral videos and the widespread access through Internet. This election was not like the few previous elections. Campaigns were similar to those during the Cold War Era. The war in Iraq and terrorism were on the minds of all Americans. These topics overshadowed the domestic issues that had been the center of past campaigns. Similar to Cold War campaigns, Bush’s advertisements focused on portraying him as a strong commander-in-chief. His campaign was more negative than many incumbent campaigns of the past and much more negative than his advertisements in 2000. The Bush campaign used an advertising tactic common among well-known candidates. This tactic attempts to push out advertisements that define your lesser-known opponent before they can define themselves. One memorable and entertaining television ad by the Bush campaign showed Kerry windsurfing back and forth and featured classical music to make it humorous. This advertisement was one of many that tried to define Kerry as a flip-flopper.

Kerry started out his campaign with traditional, biographical advertisements similar to the Clinton campaign. These advertisements were positive and tried to relate Kerry to the common voter, a tactic used in campaigns during the Cold War. Kerry’s campaign had to turn to the quick response style developed in Clinton’s campaign due to the attack ads from his opponent. Response advertisements were aired the same day as the attack ads and received nightly news coverage. The Internet served as a medium for campaigns to run advertisements that were too edgy or provocative for television. Web advertisements were more harsh and radical than attack ads aired on television. The new web advertisements targeted specific, opinionated audiences and are now a key part of modern campaigns. Hollywood personalities contributed to advertisements in a campaign against Bush during this election. The presence of Hollywood personalities was not very noticeable in 2004, but celebrities played a big role in the campaigns that followed.

It was clear in 2008 that presidential ad campaigns had come a long way since jingles and cartoons. This year marked an unprecedented growth in the quantity of advertisements and the cost. This election year television advertisements were made up of about $2.8 billion in campaign funds nationwide. Around $2 billion of this amount was spent on local broadcast commercials. Obama’s campaign spent approximately $310 million and McCain’s campaign spent about $136 million.

Growing social media platforms like Facebook drove campaigns to create television advertisements that had viral potential. The Internet led to more aggressive ads with bold statements and humor in hopes that viewers would forward the advertisements online. Social media sped up the news cycle and the pace of rapid response advertisements. The Obama campaign was the first to utilize social media to promote the candidate and reach out to a younger demographic than targeted in the past. For a campaign’s television advertisements to become viral they had to be relatable to the younger users of social media. Obama’s campaign produced advertisements that featured celebrity supporters and television personalities. The fusion of popular culture with politics in advertisements was popular with younger Americans and reached people not typically interested in politics.

Many of Obama’s advertisements used the association tactic and attempted to link McCain to George W. Bush who was unpopular at the time. His campaign included the heartwarming biographical advertisements custom to new candidates. McCain and Obama had never held the position of Vice President or President before and both campaigns promoted each candidate as a change from Bush. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were the most important issues this year, along with the financial crisis. Obama’s campaign played into the financial concerns of Americans by including economic terms in slogans. Statements like, “Can we afford John McCain,” were played in many televised advertisements. The youth played a major role in this campaign and Obama’s campaign presented his older opponent, McCain, as out of touch. The Obama campaign in 2008 did the better job labeling their candidate as a change in the right direction by using new media to promote their advertisements.

Televised Ads in Presidential Campaigns- Part 4

Clinton’s 1992 campaign revolutionized the speed of response to attack ads, which were the focus of Bush’s first campaign. Clinton’s campaign ads focused on the economic issues of the time, which were important to many. Bush’s campaign attempted to release attack ads similar to 1988, but Clinton had a rapid response team that countered these ads and prevented them from hurting his campaign. Clinton’s biographical ad titled, “Journey” made him relatable to the working-class and gave Americans a personal history of his life. Quick response teams like the one employed by Clinton are now a necessity to every campaign.

Clinton ran for reelection in 1996 against the Republican nominee, Bob Dole. Clinton’s television spots had a higher production value in this campaign and focused on associating Dole with Gingrich, a republican that played a leadership role in the federal government shutdown right before the election. These advertisements blamed the federal government shutdown on the Republican Party and presented Dole in a way that made him look like part of the problem. Other advertisements used by Clinton focused on highlighting his first-term achievements and issues he wanted to approach if given a second term. Some advertisements, specifically one featuring children combined the negative and positive approach. These advertisements involved talking down Dole and promoting Clinton in a positive light. These ads are attack-ads of a less aggressive manner. Bob Dole’s campaign produced television advertisements that questioned Clinton’s character, but it wasn’t enough to concern Americans. Clinton’s advertisements touched on issues of major concern to the people and led to his reelection.

The campaigns of candidates in 2000 were more lighthearted than many before them. George W. Bush was running as the Republican nominee against Democratic nominee, Al Gore. A good economy and few major issues of interest for candidates to work with characterized this election year. The Bush campaign focused on promoting the image of him as a genuine and sincere man in contrast to Gore who was stiffer. Advertisements from both included positive images and music to create warmth. The Bush campaign was very concerned about keeping George as a man of good nature in the public’s eye and this influenced their attack ads. In an attack ad titled, “Really MD,” a female narrator makes sarcastic comments while television clips play of Al Gore speaking. The woman questions Gore’s trustworthiness in a comedic manner. The choice of using a woman’s voice to make the comments about Gore was likely to distance George from the harsh nature of the advertisement. Al Gore’s campaign focused on statistics and less emotion. In 2000 statistics and issues were not topics of concern and these advertisements did little to sell Gore to the public.

Televised Ads in Presidential Campaigns- Part2

In 1956 Ike and Adlai faced off again for the presidency. This election marked the creation of the five-minute spot. Adlai’s campaign had a series of five-minute spots that positioned him as a family man and were more informal than the previous ads. The five-minute spots were less expensive than the 30-minute broadcasts bought by candidates before and allowed candidates to reach more people. This campaign displayed a new emphasis on the personality of candidates in contrast to past ads based on accomplishments.

Many people regard 1960 as the year that opened the modern era of the presidential campaign, as we know it. JFK and Nixon ran very different campaigns in an election that displayed the new importance of television in politics. Kennedy’s campaign produced an advertisement in which his wife Jackie spoke Spanish. This is one of the earliest examples of advertisements targeting niche audiences such as the Hispanic population. This ad also displays the new spotlight on family members during campaigns. Kennedy showed a 30-minute documentary style ad in West Virginia to persuade voters, this method proved very effective. Nixon’s campaign involved ads where he talked directly to the camera about his strict stance against communism. Nixon’s ads are an example of the Commander-in-Chief style that has stayed popular among Republican campaigns. The youth and charisma Kennedy’s advertisements communicated contributed to his victory. 1960 was the year that physical appearance of candidates became crucial to winning.

The fear of nuclear war played a major role in the 1964 campaign advertisements. In this election Lyndon B. Johnson’s campaign released the first fear ad. These ads attempt to use scare tactics to shock and motivate voters. The Johnson advertisement featuring a little girl pulling petals off of a daisy is one of the most famous ads to date. Goldwater’s campaign attempted counterattack ads to Johnson’s fear ads but were not influential enough. This election was the first year candidates used many negative ads. These negative ads focused on defining the opponent rather than defining the candidate sponsoring the advertisement.

Televised Ads in Presidential Campaigns- Part 1

Thanks to archives and thelivingroomcandidate.org, I have watched TV ads used in presidential campaigns from 1952 through 2012. This post is the first part of a series of posts I have written about the way the advertisements have changed through history. I have been most intrigued by the tv spots that changed the way presidential campaigns were conducted forever.

In 1952, Dwight Eisenhower’s catchy “I like Ike” jingle was the first televised advertisement for a presidential campaign. Over the last 61 years television advertisements have played an increasingly vital role in the campaign for presidency. Along with an increase in importance, there has been an increase in spending for airtime to reach the public eye. Television has proven to be the ideal medium for communicating with the masses in the last 16 elections. Presidential campaign ads have evolved with popular culture and trends in the media. The easiest way to understand the role that television advertising has played in presidential campaigns is to start with Ike and watch ads through the Obama administration. This is a time consuming process that can be shortened by focusing on the most influential advertisements. I have compiled my knowledge and research to explain the changes in types of advertisements throughout history and the importance of television advertising in presidential campaigns.

            In 1952 television was not the mass medium that we know it as today. The mass spread of televisions happened in later elections. The transition from radio to television programming was not complete. This can be seen by the strong use of jingles in the first presidential campaign advertisements. Dwight Eisenhower’s campaign released “Ike for President.” In this advertisement animated people hold signs for Ike and an upbeat jingle is played.  Adlai Stevenson’s campaign released an advertisement that featured a woman singing “I love the gov” in the popular music style of the time. The television advertisements in 1952 focused on promoting the candidate and did not say anything about the opponent. This style is almost laughable in comparison to modern campaigns. The “Eisenhower answers America” advertisement is another to note from this year. This ad attempts to make a direct connection with the public by showing citizens asking questions and then Eisenhower answering them. The questions were filmed at a time separate from when Ike filmed the answers and is the first noted deceptive editing to be used in a campaign TV advertisement.