Public Image

Society's switch of news medians has greatly affected how politicians run their campaigns and how the public decides on their leaders. The jump from radio to television, for example, has put a much larger emphasis on appearance and tone rather than strength of argument and values. This was clearly illustrated in the first televised presidential debate between Kennedy and Nixon in 1960. Those watching the debate believed, tanned, easy going and charismatic Kennedy to be the winner, but those listening to the radio believed Nixon had won.


Now candidates focus a lot on how they portray themselves to the public, hiring public image consultants to coach them on how to act and be in public in order to gain the approval of the public.

This has become such a large concern to politician because news networks have begun focusing more on aspects of the candidates as people rather than the issues and values that they represent. Networks report on events and campaigns instead of the candidates platforms, and they spend a lot of time looking at how candidates compare to one another in the polls.

The networks' habit of bringing the magnifying glass down on a candidate's personality and campaign has proven to be very helpful or damaging in the campaigns of many politicians. As we have recently seen in the recent senate election in Massachusetts when democrat Martha Coakley called the Red Sox pitcher a "Yankee fan," small seemingly unimportant things like a failed sports joke can be blown up by the media, taken offensively by the voting population and ultimately help a candidate loose and election.

By choosing what they cover and how they spin the story, the media can be very instrumental in the popularity and success of a candidate.

Ads

Ads

Advertisements have become an incredibly powerful tool for politicians. They allow candidates to propose their ideas while connecting with voters. In general, the more money a candidate spends on advertisements, the higher their chances are of winning the election. In the 2008 election, for example, Barack Obama spent $280 million on advertising from January 1st to November 1st, while John McCain only spent $134 million.

Positive Ads

Positive political advertisements highlight the positive qualities and accomplishments of the candidate. They are often aimed at a specific demographic of voters or focus on specific issues. Here are some examples of effective positive ads:

Obama positive ad

Reagan positive ad

Bush positive ad

Negative Ads

Negative advertisements are created to produce doubt about the opposing candidate's competence as a leader. Although the idea of negative ads is unpopular, they are extremely effective. Here are some examples of negative advertisements:

negative ad attacking Obama

negative ad attacking Kerry

Issue Ads

Issue ads promote a candidate by focusing on specific issue. They do not directly advocate a candidate, but only use a specific issue to highlight the strengths or weaknesses of a candidate. Issue ads are funded by PACs or individuals, not the candidate.

Prop 87 issue ad

Media Coverage of Ads

Advertisements can be even more effective when they catch the attention of news stations. For example, this ad, attacking Barry Goldwater, only aired once on television, but was played repeatedly on the news, making it a significant factor contributing to Lyndon B. Johnson's win in the election.