Thanks to the miracle of the internet, young people today can watch the awful television commercials of the 50's, 60's, and 70's--including the campaign commercials. Lucky you! Please take a look at a one or two of the 1968 presidential campaign commercials I link here:What was the main theme of the commercial/commercials you watched? What issues were the candidates using to try to sway voters? Did the commercial/commercials seem to you at all likely to be effective?
These are cheesy, but somehow better than the crap commercials nowadays! The Humphrey commercial called out to viewers to try and think of something Nixon had done for the country. Media, nukes, education, and housing... None of which Nixon had done anything with. I think this is actually a pretty good technique, I wonder what people would say about current politicians.
ReplyDeleteThe Wallace ad was not as effective. Although he vowed to protect the people (fireman, police force) who protect our private property. Americans do not like their private property to be threatened, it is what makes us American from the time our country was founded. I also thought it was good to point out to voters that millions of dollars is leaving our country to support other nations and causes (totalitarian). But this commercial will not stick with me as much as others.
RFK's commercial was very touching. He was using a simpler language to tell young children about pollution and the environment. It was very sweet, but not incredibly effective.
The Nixon commercial: BARF! It used images of smiling and handshakes to make everyone feel like they were actually working with the president to make the world a better place. A bunch of bologna! "I ask not for your gifts, but for your hand." "Together we can hardly fail." "Spirit of America." Although I don't believe a single word of the commercial (hindsight is 20/20), I can see how people could be inspired by this.
I like the Humphrey commercial the best.