Editing Sample by Laura Schmitt
—Adlai Stevenson, 1952
"Television is not a gimmick, and nobody will ever be elected to major office without presenting themselves well on it."
—Roger Ailes, 1968
Recognizing the Power of Television
Since the first televised presidential campaign commercial was broadcast in 1952, the explosive growth and influence of television has profoundly altered the basics of campaign strategy. Though most modern campaigns attempt to garner as much free media exposure as possible (network or cable news coverage of campaign activities, for instance), paid media exposure—in which the candidate can present a message without comment, interpretation, or criticism from reporters or news anchors—is perhaps a more powerful tool. Because television is an intimate medium that naturally favors personality over issues, and style over substance, the prominence of televised campaign commercials has, for better or worse, fundamentally changed the way the American public learns about their candidates, and the strategies that campaigns employ to reach their voters.
The Importance of Time
The length of televised campaign ads has fluctuated rather dramatically throughout the years. Though Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower’s 1952 campaign ran a series of 20-second commercials, most commercials in the early days of television campaigning were much longer. Following a strategy that had proven successful in radio, candidates purchased half-hour blocks of television time, preempting a network program to broadcast an entire campaign speech. The problem with half-hour commercials, as campaign strategists quickly learned, was that they were most likely to be watched by people already inclined to vote for the featured candidate. Other voters simply changed the channel.
By 1956 most commercials were five minutes long, by 1960 one minute. Today, in an increasingly fast-paced television world where cable TV has greatly expanded our viewing choices—and the invention of the remote control has made it even easier to jump from channel to channel—commercials have shrunk to 30 and even 15 seconds in length. The brevity of most of today’s ads allows little time to explore complicated issues in depth. As a result, candidates and their campaign strategists use campaign ads more and more to construct and bolster a desirable image and sell that image to the voting public.
Emphasizing Party Identities Campaign commercials tend not to create public opinion, but rather to reinforce positive or negative impressions of the candidates that viewers have already developed. These impressions are generated by newspaper and television coverage and debates, as well as by preexisting public assumptions about the differences among the political parties. In an effort to resonate with the "party faithful”—an important base of support—commercials are often used to establish a candidate’s allegiance to his or her party’s traditional identity. Republicans typically stress their commitment to law and order, a strong military, a reduction in the size of government, foreign policy (especially a determination to combat the threat of foreign ideologies), and, as we saw in 1992, "family values." Democrats typically stress their commitment to domestic issues such as Social Security, health care, poverty, racial inequality, and, increasingly, the environment.
Predictably, candidates often try to use these same party identities against their opponents. Republicans portray Democrats as big spenders whose focus on social programs and neglect of the military will bankrupt the treasury and leave the country unprepared to defend itself in the event of war. Democrats portray the Republicans as obsessed with building up the military and protecting the bank accounts of the rich at the expense of the poor and the middle class.
Greater Control = More Decisions
Campaign commercials, like product commercials or even films or television shows, are the product of careful planning and execution by a large staff of collaborators and contributors. Commercials are shaped by opinion polls and market research, and are designed to fit into an overall campaign strategy.
Every campaign commercial represents a series of choices on the part of the candidate and campaign advisers, choices that are calculated to achieve a specific goal: to manipulate our emotions and our opinions in order to influence our choices in the voting booth. Because the image is often the message in commercials, every aspect of the campaign commercial must be carefully thought out in order to produce the outcome the campaign is seeking.
A few broad categories of campaign advertising have developed in the years since 1952: positive ads, issue-oriented ads, and negative ads. Strong positive ads stress the candidate’s accomplishments in government, military service, or personal life, and attempt to build public trust in his or her character and ability to lead the nation. Issue-oriented ads may stress a candidate’s intention to address a particular problem, such as a recession, unemployment, or a foreign policy crisis. Negative ads are used to advance a candidate’s cause by attacking the record or programs of his or her opponent.
Beyond these general categories, there are countless details that must be determined. Within a 15-second commercial, each image and word is carefully composed, controlled, and executed. The candidate and production team, which includes advertising executives, creative directors, pollsters, writers, campaign managers, and film crews, must confront and answer the same range of questions and decisions that face any filmmaker or advertising executive outside the political sphere: What is the message? What kind of imagery communicates that message most effectively? Should the candidate appear in the ad? What should the candidate wear? Where should the candidate be photographed? Who should the candidate interact with? What is the ultimate goal of the ad? To stress the candidate’s record or attack the opponent’s? If there is narration, should the candidate read the script or should a surrogate spokesperson be used?
Conclusion
At their most effective, commercials can distill a particular theme or issue into a few powerful images, using traditional advertising techniques and the persuasive power of the moving image to create a lasting emotional reaction in the viewer.