In 1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower of the Republican Party and Adlai Stevenson of the Democratic Party ran in the United States Presidential election. When examining the political ad campaigns of both candidates it is apparent that both men had differing messages that they wanted conveyed in their political advertisements.
In this particular election, Eisenhower won by a landslide, and judging by his political advertisements alone it’s not hard to see why. This candidate was the first of his kind to run an advertisement campaign entitled “Eisenhower Answers America,” which was a concept conceived by Rosser Reeves, the Madison Avenue ad executive responsible for the iconic M&Ms slogan "Melts in your mouth, not in your hand" (http://people.howstuffworks.com/most-effective-campaign-ads.htm#page=1). Eisenhower’s campaign creator invented the idea of political spots that would last twenty seconds and would air in between two episodes of a television show.
In Eisenhower’s political advertisement at that time, the theme was regular everyday Americans posing pre-scripted questions to Eisenhower about “the economy, government corruption and the Korean War, the three topics of most concern to the nation” (http://people.howstuffworks.com/most-effective-campaign-ads.htm#page=1). In these advertisements his response was scripted and filmed in advance and the people asking the various questions were also coached ahead of time on what to ask.
Prior to running his campaign, Eisenhower was a five-star general in the US army, as well as being a war hero. His advertisements effectively conveyed him as a tough and motivated candidate interested in tackling the conflict with Korea. Eisenhower’s advertisements were attempting to target regular, everyday people, as was evident in his “Sturdy Lifeboat” advertisement where he tries to solve the problem faced by the young man who wants to get married but is concerned about being able to live on the salary he has after his tax deductions.
In this particular election, Eisenhower won by a landslide, and judging by his political advertisements alone it’s not hard to see why. This candidate was the first of his kind to run an advertisement campaign entitled “Eisenhower Answers America,” which was a concept conceived by Rosser Reeves, the Madison Avenue ad executive responsible for the iconic M&Ms slogan "Melts in your mouth, not in your hand" (http://people.howstuffworks.com/most-effective-campaign-ads.htm#page=1). Eisenhower’s campaign creator invented the idea of political spots that would last twenty seconds and would air in between two episodes of a television show.
In Eisenhower’s political advertisement at that time, the theme was regular everyday Americans posing pre-scripted questions to Eisenhower about “the economy, government corruption and the Korean War, the three topics of most concern to the nation” (http://people.howstuffworks.com/most-effective-campaign-ads.htm#page=1). In these advertisements his response was scripted and filmed in advance and the people asking the various questions were also coached ahead of time on what to ask.
Prior to running his campaign, Eisenhower was a five-star general in the US army, as well as being a war hero. His advertisements effectively conveyed him as a tough and motivated candidate interested in tackling the conflict with Korea. Eisenhower’s advertisements were attempting to target regular, everyday people, as was evident in his “Sturdy Lifeboat” advertisement where he tries to solve the problem faced by the young man who wants to get married but is concerned about being able to live on the salary he has after his tax deductions.
Interpretations
Dwight D. Eisenhower’s opponent Adlai Stevenson was known for being witty and eloquent, but often received criticism for his indecisive, aristocratic air. When first looking at Stevenson’s advertisements it was evident that Stevenson’s face was absent from every advertisement created for that election. Through further investigation of why this was the case, I found that Stevenson thought that he was too good and astute to have his face featured because he felt it would compromise his dignity (http://www.nerve.com/dispatches/nerveeditors/20-greatest-campaign-ads-of-all-time). Stevenson’s cartoons were extremely animated, meaning that there were many visuals the viewers were presented with, but those images lacked factual accompaniment, or really any substance. I think part of why Adlai Stevenson’s campaign was so unsuccessful was because he was spreading himself too thin and trying to appeal to too many different groups of people with too many separate advertisements.
Thinking to the present and Barrack Obama’s approach to campaigning, he successfully appealed to various groups of people in just one advertisement, whereas Stevenson ineffectively focussed on different groups of people in separate advertisements. Examples of this include the “Endorsement Woman” advertisement that deals with the idea of women endorsing Stevenson, the “Adlai to You” advertisement that pokes fun at the campaign runner’s name and stresses the importance of voting for him regardless of his name, and “The Same God Made Us All” advertisement that addresses God-given liberty without man-made barriers and suggests that this can only be achieved with Adlai Stevenson.
For Adlai Stevenson, the ads aim to show him as well rounded because he is attempting to reach a diverse audience through his assortment of advertisements. The messaging of Eisenhower is a lot more clear cut and organized, and his future goals as President are very apparent. There is a greater degree of professionalism in Eisenhower’s advertisements because even when comparing the cartoons in his advertisements to those in Stevenson’s, Eisenhower’s cartoons are more refined, with stronger, darker lines. Stevenson’s cartoons look more juvenile, with less lines and details.
Thinking to the present and Barrack Obama’s approach to campaigning, he successfully appealed to various groups of people in just one advertisement, whereas Stevenson ineffectively focussed on different groups of people in separate advertisements. Examples of this include the “Endorsement Woman” advertisement that deals with the idea of women endorsing Stevenson, the “Adlai to You” advertisement that pokes fun at the campaign runner’s name and stresses the importance of voting for him regardless of his name, and “The Same God Made Us All” advertisement that addresses God-given liberty without man-made barriers and suggests that this can only be achieved with Adlai Stevenson.
For Adlai Stevenson, the ads aim to show him as well rounded because he is attempting to reach a diverse audience through his assortment of advertisements. The messaging of Eisenhower is a lot more clear cut and organized, and his future goals as President are very apparent. There is a greater degree of professionalism in Eisenhower’s advertisements because even when comparing the cartoons in his advertisements to those in Stevenson’s, Eisenhower’s cartoons are more refined, with stronger, darker lines. Stevenson’s cartoons look more juvenile, with less lines and details.
Persuasion
In this week’s reading for Franz and Ridout, the authors make the observation that “the non-experimental research on the persuasiveness of advertising has suggested that advertising's impact in a campaign is sporadic, either non-existent or significant but fairly small in magnitude.” In the advertisements for Eisenhower and Stevenson I would argue that the visuals that they present to their audience trump any eloquent persuasive dialogue that either candidate could share.
Eisenhower’s advertisement campaign entitled “Eisenhower Answers America” functions by making the audience identify with the term “America” and in doing so, by having Eisenhower answer that one person it seems as if he is answering each individual affiliated with that term. By using “America” as a general term, it ends up working as a personal term, almost as if he is addressing each American separately. Further, by having certain Americans address the candidate directly it gives the impression that Eisenhower is ready and available for all Americans to ask any questions they have for him at any time. Eisenhower’s ads persuade viewers to believe that they are important enough for him to answer each individual question that they have. Eisenhower also engages in mudslinging in his “Bus Driver” advertisement when he compares the Democrats to a bus driver that has run off of the road, suggesting to the woman that she would in that case need to get a new bus driver.
Adlai Stevenson attempts to use the technique of song in “I Love The Gov” to persuade viewers to vote for him. The catchy jingle that’s apparent in the commercial is also one that will undoubtedly stick with viewers long after the advertisement has finished being aired. Stevenson keeps the mudslinging to a minimum, but it is present in the “Platform Double Talk” advertisement that shows how politicians commit to actions that they can’t follow through with, and then go back on their word, “confusing the issue” (Platform Double Talk, Stevenson 1952).
It is incredible to see the strides that have been made in political campaign advertisements. Advertisements have come a long way, but it was insightful to explore the roots of political campaign advertisements through the examination of the advertisements used in the 1952 election.
Eisenhower’s advertisement campaign entitled “Eisenhower Answers America” functions by making the audience identify with the term “America” and in doing so, by having Eisenhower answer that one person it seems as if he is answering each individual affiliated with that term. By using “America” as a general term, it ends up working as a personal term, almost as if he is addressing each American separately. Further, by having certain Americans address the candidate directly it gives the impression that Eisenhower is ready and available for all Americans to ask any questions they have for him at any time. Eisenhower’s ads persuade viewers to believe that they are important enough for him to answer each individual question that they have. Eisenhower also engages in mudslinging in his “Bus Driver” advertisement when he compares the Democrats to a bus driver that has run off of the road, suggesting to the woman that she would in that case need to get a new bus driver.
Adlai Stevenson attempts to use the technique of song in “I Love The Gov” to persuade viewers to vote for him. The catchy jingle that’s apparent in the commercial is also one that will undoubtedly stick with viewers long after the advertisement has finished being aired. Stevenson keeps the mudslinging to a minimum, but it is present in the “Platform Double Talk” advertisement that shows how politicians commit to actions that they can’t follow through with, and then go back on their word, “confusing the issue” (Platform Double Talk, Stevenson 1952).
It is incredible to see the strides that have been made in political campaign advertisements. Advertisements have come a long way, but it was insightful to explore the roots of political campaign advertisements through the examination of the advertisements used in the 1952 election.
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