Introduction
It's that time of year yet again-
political candidates are gearing up their campaigns to be elected. In
order to get the attention of their constituents, politicians either
a. promote their own good deeds or b. put down their opponents.
Sadly, many choose the b. option, leading to campaigns that contain
the same type of mud
slinging that has crowded campaigns for decades. I chose an ad
campaign for President Obama's reelection bid. The ads are currently
on YouTube.
I have not yet seen them on television. Which type of ad works
better? Which is more aesthetically pleasing to audiences/voters?
Describe
I chose four very different yet
powerful ads to review.
The first, called Gen44,
begins with President Obama speaking directly to the target group-
young voters. He praised their contributions to his 2008 victory
before telling these same voters that he is now counting on them
again. He goes so far as to mention “tapping into your networks,”
and ends by seemingly putting his reelection in their hands. “Because
the best advocate of this campaign isn't me, it's you.”
This ad plays on the visual of American
pride with Obama standing just to the left of an American flag. There
is also nondescript music playing softly in the background. The ad
ends with the Obama/Biden campaign logo. It is 58 seconds long and
can currently be viewed on YouTube (see link above). The Gen44 ad is
part of Obama's reelection ad campaign. I found 12, including several
in Spanish.
The second ad utilizes actress Eva
Longoria as the lone person in the ad. She is immediately
identified as the National Co-chair of Obama for America. No props
are used and, unlike the Gen44 ad, no flag is present. However, the
background is blue and Longoria wears a red top, giving voters a
patriotic look and feel. Not only does Longoria talk about how her
parents told her she could do anything if she worked hard, she also
notes that her sister with special needs taught her to be “courageous
and compassionate.”
She then tells viewers that she lives
her life day to day and it's what she sees in “everything President
Obama does.” She then lists some of the issues he feels strongly
on- affordable health care, access to education, and small businesses
in the Hispanic community. She talks about how he has worked on
immigration reform to give all people the chance to live the American
dream. She ends the ad with a Spanish phrase along with the website
where people can get involved.
This is one of the ads that also
appears in Spanish. It runs 55 seconds and also ends with the
Obama/Biden reelection logo.
Empower,
Act, Organize is the third ad I chose to focus on. This ad is
completely different from the first two in that it uses “plain
folk” and has no actual dialogue. Instead, it shows people holding
signs, inviting people to get involved, organize and act. It promotes
the Day of Action on April 28 and pretty much a “Hey, America,
let's come together!” feel to it. There is one other thing that
really sets this ad apart from the first two. Instead of just showing
the Obama/Biden names at the end, this ad is played in front of a
wall plastered with placards that say, “2012, BARACKOBAMA.COM.
This is also the shortest ad at only 48
seconds. It too ends with the same Obama/Biden logo as the other ads.
The final ad I looked at is one called
Kal Penn: Get
Involved. Immediately, the ad tells viewers that Penn is an
actor. What it does not do is identify him as the Co-Chair of the
Obama for America campaign or as the Assistant Director of the White
House Office of Public Engagement. Penn first thanks those in Iowa
who got involved in the Obama for America campaign and urged viewers
to also look at the Young Americans for Obama website. And, playing
on the electronic uses of young voters, he tells viewers they can
follow the campaign on Twitter or text a specific phrase to a
specific number to get updates on their cell phones.
This ad runs 57 seconds and is played
against a backdrop of an Organizing of America banner. A blue sun
type logo, with a field of red and white rows is prominent across the
banner. This is part of the overall Obama/Biden logo visible in two
of the other ads.
Analyze
Each ad plays on a different persuasive
techniques.
- Gen44- this ad is basically a combination of bandwagon and famous person testimonial. President Obama, easily a recognizable famous person (even to those who do not agree with his views) talks directly to young voters in order to get them to jump on his bandwagon to not only vote for him but to raise money for his campaign.
- Eva Longoria ad- This ad also utilizes the bandwagon and famous person testimonial. Longoria talks about working hard and President Obama almost in the same breath.
- Empower, Act, Organize- This ad incorporates the bandwagon and plain folks techniques. In this case, the people in the ad appear to be just regular Americans who are enticing people to join them in voting and taking action to insure Obama gets reelected.
- Kal Penn: Get Involved- Like the Gen44 ad, this one uses the bandwagon/famous person testimonial combination. While I have to admit, I had no idea who Penn was, the fact that he was immediately identified as an actor, made him appear to be a famous person. He too encouraged viewers to become part of the voting ranks.(Interestingly, Penn left the White House post about six months before this ad was posted on YouTube.)
All of the ads utilized the Association
Principle because they each deal with associating patriotism with
voting for, in this case, Obama. The ads appear to be very successful
in utilizing what appears to be very personable video clips.
Interpret
I'd say each of these ads offers up
something new for viewers to look at and to interpret. Probably the
Empower, Act, Organize ad gives viewers a better idea that voting is
important regardless of who you vote for.
Gen44 and the Kal Penn ad are focused
on young voters which is evident immediately in each ad. The Longoria
ad is focused on the Hispanic vote which is especially obvious at the
end with the Spanish phrase and the fact that the web address begins
with the word Hispanic. The Empower, Act, Organize ad actually has a
much more general focus since it included ethnic groups and both
young and older voters.
I don't really think any of the ads
uses any stereotypes.
Evaluate
The strengths of these ads is that they
all play on the patriotism of American voters. Each one has red,
white and blue very prevalent in the layout of the ad.
The weaknesses in all four ads is the
overuse of the Obama/Biden logo. This is especially true in the
Empower, Act, Organize ad. Personally, I think it's a bit of
overkill. The strength in the Gen44 ad is definitely the flag being
visible throughout the ad. The Longoria ad's use of the actress as a
spokesperson who can relate to the Hispanic voters is a huge strength
while Penn might be considered the same to draw young voters to the
cause. The Empower, Act, Organize ad's strength is the fact that it
shows only ordinary people.
In my opinion, the most memorable one
of the four ads is the Empower, Act, Organize ad because of its use
of plain folks. While people like knowing famous people support the
same candidates they do, they are often more impressed when it
appears the person next door does.
Conclusions
I really learned to look closer at the
content of ads because of this assignment. I was one of those people
who often got on a bandwagon because my favorite actor was also on
that same bandwagon. After seeing these ads, I found the Empower,
Act, Organize ad my favorite because it used just ordinary people.
Just for fun- fake campaign ads
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