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Most effective political ads ever?

by: elwood

Wed Aug 27, 2008 at 17:55:15 PM EDT
Off the top of my head, I would list:
  1. Daisy, Johnson vs. Goldwater
  2. Willie Horton, GHW Bush vs. Dukakis
  3. Hands, Helms vs. Gantt
  4. Wind surfing,Bush vs. Kerry

Maybe you'll notice a pattern.

Am I missing some effective ads that would change the picture?

(In commercial advertising this approach doesn't really work. Negative ads are the exception: The Pepsi Challenge and 'We Try Harder' being lonely exceptions.)
elwood :: Most effective political ads ever?
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Most effective political ads ever? | 15 comments
One other memorable ad (4.00 / 2)
that wasn't negative: Bill Bradley running for Senate. Kind of wonky, showing him working at a desk with a voiceover describing the issues he was promoting. He's writing out a speech, maybe.

Then he crumples up the sheet of paper, and tosses it into a wastebasket maybe twenty feet away - swish.

Wind surfing didn't hold a candle (4.00 / 1)
to Swift Boat Vets and Wolves.
Oh, and 'Morning in America' (0.00 / 0)
A positive feel-good Reagan ad in 1984. Very effective.
[ Parent ]
That one in particularly stands apart for me. (0.00 / 0)
Many, many times I've described the Bush Era as "Midnight in America".
[ Parent ]
It's a great ad (0.00 / 0)
I would add the Richardson ads from the last cycle. They didn't help him win, but I thought they were pretty good.
I thought Edwards' ads were pretty bad despite liking and voting for him.
Clinton's ads seemed all over the map. The message cohesion was not there: "Ready" ... then "Ready to lead" ... then "A new beginning for America" ... I mean, it was like a new message a month for her.

Harkin's closed factory ads in 1992 were pretty good But then, after losing the presidential race, he voted for NAFTA and GATT.

The anti-Kerry "I voted for the $87 billion dollars before I voted against it" spots were pretty effective.

Ventura's super hero gubernatorial ad.

Nader's Priceless debate ad.

Politizine.com

[ Parent ]
The Bob Kerrey "there's a lot left" ad (4.00 / 1)
I never even saw it, I only heard about it. But people remember it.

The Dole vs. Bush "no footprints in the snow" ad.

I feel like I've seen a lot of good positive ads, but they're less memorable because there's no outrage.


Barney Frank vs. Margaret Heckler, 1982 (4.00 / 1)
A great anti-negative-ad ad.  And one worth remembering this year.

Incumbent vs. incumbent, and Margaret "Reagan's favorite Democrat" Heckler was running a nasty negative campaign.  Frank came out with an ad that depicted her attacks as literal scribbles on a picture of him.  Then the scribbles faded away, with the voice-over:

"When you wipe away all the smears, you'll see that Barney Frank is still --

A Congressman You Can Trust."

(The last line appeared on the screen and was the slogan he'd used in his successful first run just two years before.)

Pre-posting edit: Hey, I remembered it pretty accurately: The Spot, By Edwin Diamond, Stephen Bates

Just a note (4.00 / 1)
that the legendary DDB "Daisy Ad" only ran once, and was pulled thereafter. But, it changed things forever.

It's time for a change and I need a nap. Or is it the other way around?
Also, a political ad (4.00 / 2)
that was not a campaign ad, but neverless highly effective: Harry and Louise, but it now seems that H&L ride again, this time with a very different gang.

It's time for a change and I need a nap. Or is it the other way around?
The anti-Harold Ford "Call me" ad (4.00 / 1)
... is actually pretty hypnotic, and quite memorable.

And I guess (0.00 / 0)
Effective, since Ford lost.

Politizine.com
[ Parent ]
He was gonna lose anyway (0.00 / 0)
He had Don Imus plugging him daily, and he still lost. The ad hurt but didn't hurt that much.


[ Parent ]
Nixon Now (0.00 / 0)

and when you thought it could not get any worse


This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.

   Dorothy Parker

Nixon Now (0.00 / 0)

and when you thought it could not get any worse


This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.

   Dorothy Parker

hmmm clicked once (0.00 / 0)


This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.

   Dorothy Parker

Most effective political ads ever? | 15 comments
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