Do you hate political ads? CNN and Time.com recently ran a feature of their picks for the “Top 10 Campaign Ads,” and I had to check it out. “There’s a top 10?” I thought. “That has got to be really scraping the barrel.” But in fact, it turns out there have been some real masters of propaganda in this country and these ads are more than compelling. And surprisingly, only one is overtly negative. Turns out that some really effective ads can be made that actually make one candidate look good rather than simply trying to get a leg up by cutting down someone else. In particular, the “It’s Morning in America” ad run by Reagan in 1984 is one of the finest pieces of propaganda I have seen. Had I been able to vote in 1984, this probably would have done it.
Of course, the Kennedy and Ike ads might be a little too positive. Forget the fact that they are cartoons. The catchy jingle offers scant concrete reasons to vote for either candidate. How did this work? As if the American public would ever be fooled into voting for vague ideals in the guise of catchphrases and rhetoric! Oh. Right. Maybe Obama should hire Pixar to come up with something for the last few weeks of the campaign.
3 Second Goldfish 