Political Advertising

Tim Derickson, Talawanda grad,  and one of the many candidates running in the special election for Ohio’s vacant eighth congressional district, “grew up a third-generation dairy farmer.”   What metaphor does he use for Washington politics?

Political campaigns literally spend millions of dollars trying to sway their voters. But are they getting their money's worth?

There are four main types of ads:

Negative - One candidate portrays the other in an unfavorable light.
Warm and Fuzzy - Candidates make the viewer feel good about the country or his/her campaign.
Humorous - Candidates elicit a laugh or smile from the viewer.
Scary - Candidates evoke images of fear (usually combined with a Negative ad)

After you have closely observed these political ads, answer the following questions.

The Most Disasterous 2018 Campaign Ads

1. What are the key messages communicated in each advertisement?
2. Which type of ad was more memorable? Why?
3. Which do you think would be most effective in convincing viewers to vote for (or against) a candidate?
4. Did you learn from the ads? Did they help you to decide which candidate to support?
5. What do all types have in common? Do they provide factual information or do theyevoke an emotional response?
6. During which programs do the ads play? What time of the day do you see the most ads?
7. What are the limitations of a 30-second commercial?
8. How important is a candidate’s look in these ads? What type of image are they trying to create?
9. If you were the campaign manager for a candidate in your district, what type of ad would you try to create?

Political commercials are like miniature movies. As in movies, great care is taken to make certain each detail of production--lighting, editing, music--work together to convey a particular mood.

Watch an ad for a fictional candidate. You can add different effects to manipulate the tape into an ad for or against the candidate.