Advertising

= How do presidential campaigns use advertising to influence voters? = toc

ACTIVITY 1: Watch a series of ads and evaluate their effectiveness.
[|"Surgeon"] [|"Yes We Can"]

[|"Prouder, Stronger, Better"] [|"Celeb"] [|"Taxes"]
 * Emotions**

Questions for discussion:
 * How do you think the makers of the ad want you to feel? How do you know? How does the ad actually make you feel? Does the ad succeed?
 * What is the tone of the ad? (For example, is it inspirational, hopeful, frightening, sarcastic, etc.?)
 * What is the ad's argument? Does the tone reflect the argument? Why or why not?
 * How would you rate the ad's emotional appeal on the rubric's scale of 1 to 4 for emotion?

[|"McGovern Defense"] [|"Accountability"] [|"Voting Booth"]
 * Persuasion**

Questions for discussion:
 * What is the central issue of this ad? Does the ad tell you why this issue is important?
 * What is the ad's argument? How does the ad support its argument? Is it convincing?
 * How would you rate the ad on the rubric's scale of 1 to 4 for persuasion? (The higher the number, the better)

"Accomplishment" "Rebuild America" "Wolverine"
 * Truth**

Questions for discussion:
 * Does this ad make specific factual claims? List all of the claims the ad makes. Are these claims general or specific?
 * Does the ad cite any sources to support its claims? If so, are they reliable sources?
 * How would you rate the ad's apparent truthfulness on the rubric's scale of 1 to 4 for truth? (The higher the better)

"Windsurfing" "Roller Coaster" [|"Senator Margaret Chase"]
 * Style**

Questions for discussion: = =
 * What do you see in the ad? How are the images edited together?
 * Do you hear music in the ad? Is there a voice-over? Are there sound effects?
 * Do the images and sounds advance the ad's argument or heighten its emotional appeal? Why or why not?
 * How would you rate the ad's effectiveness on the rubric's scale of 1 to 4 for style?

ACTIVITY 2 -Focus on political ads which feature children
"Family/Children" [|"Dangerous World"]

Questions for discussion:
 * Describe the children in these ads. Is there one child, or are there many?
 * What are the children doing?
 * How do these ads make you feel? Why?
 * What is each ad about?
 * Are children used effectively in these ads? Why or why not?
 * Do you think the impact of using children in these ads would have been different for older viewers and younger ones?

"Ice Cream Cone" "We Will Bury You" "War on Poverty" "Changing World" [|"The Threat"] "Ashley's Story" "Daisy Girl"

Questions for discussion:
 * Describe the age, gender, and appearance of the children in the ad. What are they doing?
 * What settings, costumes, and props are used? What effect do they have?
 * Is the presidential candidate shown interacting with the children? If so, what impression do you get of the candidate from these interactions?
 * What message does the commercial communicate?
 * Do you think the use of children in this commercial is effective? Why or why not?
 * Do you think the ad's use of children is fair, or do you think it is unfairly manipulative or inappropriate? Why?

[|"Really MD"] "Revolving Door" "Fundamentals"
 * Negative variation**

Questions for discussion:
 * Does the ad attack the opponent's policy positions, his leadership qualities, or his record? What is its argument?
 * What is the tone of the ad?
 * How does the ad make you feel about the candidate being criticized? How does it make you feel about the candidate whose campaign made the ad?

Assessment: Do you think the use of children in campaign commercials (or the use of negative ads) is effective in convincing viewers to vote for a political candidate. Respond to this question, giving details and examples. Consider this quote from the book The Political Brain: The Role of Emotion in Deciding the Fate of the Nation, by psychologist Drew Westen: "In politics, when reason and emotion collide, emotion invariably wins." Can ads focused on arousing strong emotions distract voters from more substantive issues? Can a political ad be effective even if it is unfair (for example, even when we know it contains misleading or false information)? Turn this in to edmodo.

Activity 3 -Watch ads and evaluate the claims and information presented
[|Reality Check -Channel 8 Investigates]

Watch these commercials and identify at least two factual claims made in each video. [|"What Kind"] [|"Rearview Mirror"] [|"Education"] [|"Original Mavericks"]

The website www.factcheck.org, was set up by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania as a nonpartisan organization for monitoring the accuracy of public political discourse. (The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Politico also fact-check political ads.)

1. Search the site for information on each of the four ads:
 * "What Kind" ([])
 * "Rearview Mirror" ([])
 * "Original Mavericks" ([])
 * "Education" ([])

Questions for discussion:
 * What evidence does FactCheck.org use to investigate the claims made in each of the ads?
 * What other sources of information could you use to "fact check" the claims made in these ads?

Discuss the effectiveness of the ads they examined. Does knowing the facts change your opinion of the candidate? Or do other factors (e.g., music, images, or emotional appeal) continue to influence you? How much do facts matter? Can an ad be unfair but effective? Write a paragraph explaining your thoughts. Submit to edmodo.

Homework: Choose an ad from a current political race that claims to present facts or factual information. Fact-check the information in this ad.

Activity 4 - Understand the nature and uses of language
Text from "Prouder, Stronger, Better"

NARRATOR: It's morning again in America. Today, more men and women will go to work than ever before in our country's history. With interest rates at about half the record highs of 1980, nearly 2,000 families today will buy new homes, more than at any time in the past 4 years. This afternoon, 6500 young men and women will be married, and with inflation at less than half of what it was just 4 years ago, they can look forward with confidence to the future. It's morning again, in America, and under the leadership of President Reagan our country is prouder, and stronger, and better. Why would we ever want to return to where we were less than 4 short years ago?"

Underline three phrases or words in the text that stand out. Place a "+" next to a phrase that gives them a positive feeling. They can put a "-“" next to a phrase that gives them a negative feeling.

Questions for discussion:
 * What phrases or words did you mark as "positive"? Why?
 * What phrases or words did you mark as "negative"? Why?
 * How does the ad portray President Reagan?
 * What does the ad say about the opposing candidate? Is there any direct or indirect criticism?
 * If you had to pick a phrase to use as a title for this ad, what would it be?
 * Is the ad in color or black-and-white? What effect does that have?
 * What do you think the ad is about? Why?

Listening activity: Listen to the audio of the video only; write down the words or phrases that stand out to them (these may be slightly different than the phrases noted in the transcript). Pay attention to all of the sounds in this ad. Questions for discussion:
 * What words do you remember most clearly now? Are they the same? Different? Why?
 * What words or phrases seem least important or memorable now? Why?
 * Did the ad sound the way you expected it to? Why or why not?
 * How do you feel about the candidate after listening to the ad? Why?
 * What element contributes most to the mood of the ad: words, music, or the voice of the narrator? Why?
 * To whom is this ad directed? How do you know?

Prediction activity: Work with a partner to brainstorm about images that could go with the text.

Viewing activity: Screen the ad and take notes on any images that stand out to you.

Questions for discussion:
 * What are the images you remember most clearly? Why?
 * What words do you remember most clearly now? Are they the same? Different? Why?
 * What words or phrases seem less important or memorable now? Why?
 * Did the ad look the way you expected it to? Why or why not?
 * How do you feel about the candidate after watching the ad? Why?
 * What element contributes most to the mood of the ad: images, words, music, or the voice of narrator? Why?
 * Would this ad be as effective on the radio? Why or why not?
 * To whom is the ad directed? How do you know?
 * How should the words/images differ for a different audience, such as, for example, an audience of women? Teens?

[|"Pessimism"] Text: "BUSH: I'm George W. Bush and I approve this message. I'm optimistic about America because I believe in the people of America. NARRATOR: After recession, 9/11 and war...Now our economy has been growing for ten straight months. The largest tax relief in history. 1.4 million jobs added since August. Inflation, interest and mortgage rates low. Record home ownership. John Kerry's response? He's talking about the Great Depression. One thing's sure "Pessimism never created a job."

Activity 6 - Admaker
//Make Your Own 1968 Campaign Ad//

In completing their ads, students will have access to the images used in the original ad, additional video and images related to the 1968 election, and additional audio. Students should: When they are finished, students should save their ads and present them to the class. In their presentations, students should answer the following questions:
 * Review the video, images, and audio provided.
 * Decide on one issue, theme, or idea on which they want to focus.
 * Upload any additional media they want to use to My Media.
 * Add, edit, and rearrange images and video footage to create 30-second ads.
 * Complete their ads with voiceover, music, titles, effects, and/or transitions.
 * What is the argument of the ad? How did you make this argument?
 * How do you want voters to feel about Nixon as they watch your ad? How did you try to elicit these emotional responses?
 * How do you want voters to feel about Humphrey as they watch your ad? How did you try to elicit these emotional responses?
 * Is the style of your ad similar to or different from "Convention"? If it is similar, how is it similar? If it is different, how is it different? Explain the reasons for the choices you made

[|RUBRIC]