Image Is Everything

Which ads do you consider the biggest hits?
Election: 1964, Johnson/Goldwater
Ad: "Peace Little Girl," a.k.a. "Daisy Girl" (for Johnson)
Certainly, the "Daisy Girl" ad you can't top. That took everything people were afraid of that year and created an incredibly powerful image that is unforgettable. It was also bold, at the time, to use a child in an ad. Now it's common, but you hardly ever saw it before that ad. But again, it was effective because it played into things that were out there already. Goldwater made this famous statement at the convention in 1964 ["Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice"]. He also said he might consider tactical nuclear weapons in Vietnam. So he had said things that suggested he might be dangerous. This ad just tapped into that perfectly.

Election: 1984, Reagan/Mondale
Ad: "Prouder, Stronger, Better" (for Reagan)
It captured what people were feeling at the time. They wanted to feel that the country had made a comeback from Watergate and all the problems that allowed [Ronald] Reagan to be elected over Jimmy Carter. It was upbeat and moving, and people wanted to believe that. It tied in with what Reagan's image was.

Election: 1988, Bush/Dukakis
Ad: "Revolving Door" (for Bush)
It doesn't mention Willy Horton by name, but it's invoking him [and the prison-furlough system]. It's implying that these prisoners are flooding out of the system and created this image of Dukakis as this liberal who's going to let dangerous criminals out onto the street.

And the biggest misses?
Election: 2000, Bush/Gore
Ad: "Accountability" (for Gore)
This is a classic example of a bad ad. The theme of the ad is education, and Gore starts the ad by saying he agrees with Bush on accountability. That's crazy. To have an ad where you basically start by saying you agree with your opponent—well, you're not giving anyone a reason to vote for you. It was very ineffective.

Election: 2004, Bush/Kerry
Ad: "Optimists" (for Kerry)
There's just so much going on in this ad. In 30 seconds he talks about lower health-care costs, independence of Middle East oil, a strong military and strong alliances to defeat terror. There's not one, clear message. When you watch it, it doesn't seem like a bad ad, but nothing really gets through.

Election: 1960, Kennedy/Nixon
Ad: "Civil Rights" (for Nixon)
In all of his ads, Nixon's sort of sitting in his office in a formal setting. He's trying to come across as professional, experienced and mature. It's really stiff, whereas the Kennedy ads reflect an energy and spontaneity. It backfired on Nixon.

© 2007