Below is an ad for Richard Nixon in his campaign for President in 1968. He was making a comeback of sorts that year as he had lost in a previous bid in 1960 for President and in 1962 for Governor of California. The content of the ad is designed to make you draw conclusions about the country’s Vietnam policy under President Lyndon Johnson. Johnson, a Democrat, decided ultimately to not run for re-election. His Vice-President Hubert H. Humphrey ran instead. Humphrey lost and Nixon went on to getting re-elected in 1972 as well.
Based on its visuals, could an ad like this be run today?
Politics Matters 
No, because it is to graphic and he doesn’t say he approves the message at the end. Other than that he can say his view on the Vietnam war and what he didn’t like about it.
This type of ad could not be run today because it was very graphic and involves a war which has a devastating memory for many people. Towards the end it does not say the message was approved by…, which is necessary in ads today. The Vietnam War was a very controversial war and because of that it should not be made into a ad.
This ad could never be run today. Nixon is using the war against his opponent and some people might take that offensively because of the graphic demeanor. He should have used a different issue that was not as personal to some as the Vietnam war was.The biggest reason as to why this ad could never be run today is that Nixon does not say that he approves this message, which is now required.
This ad would have definitely not been able to run today, because of the graphic detail and message that was being delivered to viewers. Nixon also did not approve of the message, which is now mandatory. The Vietnam War is a sensitive topic among many, who may strongly disagree with this ad. This ad would cause an uprising, so because of that it would most likely never be run in today’s ads.
Although its message did get across, I don’t think an ad like this would be run today. The images are too graphic for a public commercial, and might be addressing an issue larger than what the president can control. However, it was an effective way to campaign, as I’m sure the ad stuck in the heads of many viewers, but it might have pushed the boundaries too far on what is and is not appropriate for campaign ads.
An ad for a campaign like this one could not be on TV today. The reason why I feel is some parents that shelter their kids would say I don’t want my kids seeing dead pictures of soldiers. Even though today kids see much worse than that. Also some might say what is the point of showing this ad it is not an effective way to get your message across. I just feel parents would complain about the pictures of soldiers and the station would have to take down the commercial.
I say yes an ad like this could be run today. It is effective and it spoke to an issue that concerned millions of Americans. The use of graphic images and serious tone was aimed directly at the heart of young voters and Johnson’s critcs. The only difference between this ad being run today or back then is that now this ad would be run by some Super Pac, called, ” American Family Values Patriot Protectors” or ” The Constitution And Small Business Defenders Of America”
No i don’t think an Ad like this can be run in today’s society because the images are too strong for people to see. A lot of children watch T.V without supervision and viewing an Ad like this can affect them. although it doesn’t necessarily mean that all children will come across this Ad some will and i am sure parents will have a reaction to it. I just don’t see this something appropriate to be Advertised in public, T.V. or social media.
Ah the way I view this ad is just pathetic to me. For instance, why would he use the war for his nomination? Now a days, any ad that is too graphic is taken off in an instant. If someone wants to run for president, they should point out the flaws of their opponents. Yes many Americans were against the war during the time but many were for it as well. Nixon should had given an ad in regards to how he was going to improve the country in a different way such as economic wise.
Today, I do believe that an Ad can be displayed just as this one. Instead of the Vietnam War that was depicted, it can be replaced for the Iraq War that is occurring overseas. A presidential candidate that is strong anti-war can represent that topic against his opponent in the election. In my eyes, nobody needs a war like this at the current times. Getting rid of such a war can cut government spending for military use, and the money that would be saved could be used for indirectly lowering taxes. Then, with lower or absolutely no one fighting in the war overseas, those individuals can get in the workplace for America and help generate individual income. That number is thousands in numbers so if you multiply that by an income, that would be a great impact for society.
I don’t believe you would ever see an ad like this nowadays. It would not surprise me if it was pulled only after a single showing like the girl and the daisy commercial. This ad doesn’t say anything but the war will continue and people will suffer if you don’t vote for Nixon. Granted it was a key event happening at this time and everyone knew Vietnam wasn’t going very well so he tried to build momentum off it to get votes.
IN today’s society it would get taken off air right away. People do not like seeing things that emotional and graphic. People are very sensitive but I do believe people do need to see things like this so they can know what is really going on in war zones. Nixon wanted people to believe he was going to end the war that seemed to go on forever with no progress.
I suppose i’m in the minority as I don’t see the ad as too graphic to run today at all..
Not saying it would be run, just noting how silly we’ve gotten as a society. That was something to run on, that was an important reason to consider voting for him.. not because “the other guy has an illegitimate child”
I mean we couldn’t air a commercial like that(again, seriously not “graphic”, emotional definitely.) yet how much did American Sniper bring in at the box office?
We are such an interesting and so easily offended society…
An ad like this could absolutely be ran today for a campaign. The issues that have been going on in the middle east, have since slowed down in the past years, but the ongoing problem with ISIS everyone needs to know about. They need to see what our soldiers are going through on every level. The American people need to see this and for someone to run an ad like this and bring the problems to an end like President Nixon did would be a great candidate in my opinion for the Presidential office.
I do think an ad like this could be ran today, do I think it should be ran? no. Nobody wants to see those graphic images while watching tv at the dinner table. Kids will see it and they shouldn’t have to. I do think candidates will go as low as showing these images against their opponents though, anything to get your vote.
I think it cannot be an ad for today’s campaign because it’s all about wars. Nowadays, wars are not happened in most of the countries in the world. Therefore, this ad is inappropriate because most of this generation’s people do not familiar with the wars. Since there are laws between different countries, wars will not happen.
An ad like this would not be allowed to be ran in today’s campaign. Richard Nixon’s ad was to graphic, and to strong for today’s society. We are constantly worried about if television is “child proof.” Many people would not like this ad because it evokes much emotion. The ad would last sixty seconds and be pulled from the television and radio networks. Richard Nixon uses a war campaign to show that if you choose Hubert Humphrey, America will suffer.
I do believe the Ad can be ran because filters on T.V. is not as strict. Especially, if the Ad was on cable T.V. they would let the Ad run. Now on basic T.V. the Ad might not be able to make it. For example, this year some of the super bowl Ad were a little sketchy. Like one I seen they were talking about children that died in accidents.
They would never let this AD run today because of its graphic demeanor. But then again I would run an AD like this to show how the world really is. Its just liberals who try to hide the fact that war is really bad. But they allow Miley cyrus basically grope herself onstage infront of 10 year olds but they cant allow this to be shown? That right there is what is wrong with society.
I believe that there is no saying if this ad could or could not be run today. Sure this ad may be graphic but it’s amazing what you’ll see on TV these days to get a point across. And that is just what this ad did.
It most certainly could not be run today. Typically, candidates are too afraid to run overt campaigns for fear of offending some and alienating voters. The graphic nature of this ad would certainly offend some, and because elections have been so close in recent years, a candidate can ill-afford to lose votes.
There’s no possible way that an advertisement like that would work in this day in age. Especially the way Nixon ended the clip with, “Vote like your whole world depended on it.” To me that is like saying vote for me, otherwise anyone else in office will inevitably get you killed. I can understand if there was less helpless looking people in the video, but otherwise it was a very sad and dreadful ad that would not work in this day in age.
I would have to say that this ad would not be able to run today. Censoring material is getting more and mkre strict as time goes on. I feel like the government would not want our military to be seen like this and would not want as much graphic material shown to the public especially children. My answer would be no.
I would say no because it showed a lot of violence and it might bring back bad memeries for some voters. Plus if he would have had said that he believes this is true or that he actually said it then it might change my answer but it was just pictures and someone talking. Plus a lot of little kids watch tv with their parents so this is a bad influence on them
No this ad could be run today due to the fact that it’s so graphic and this is not something I think is not appropriate for children to see and many other adults would also find it not appropriate. Nixon did not mention, ” I approve this message”, today in ads that is something that needs to be said and required. He should of used something that was not so personal, and also sensitive.
This add would not be able to be run today. The images and idea of the add is far too extreme and would cause to much negative feed back. In today’s age i feel as if it’d work against him rather than help him get more votes in the campaign. To say your whole world depends on voting for a president is not true in the slightest and by saying that he’s just trying to scare the people into voting for him.
This type of ad could not run today, it has to much graphics, and many people would be disturbed. Nixon did not say he approved this message at the end of the ad. There are many kids that watch TV and if we have a strong message like this it could be something devastating for them to see as well as adults.
I don’t think that this message would be televised in todays day. Nixon was trying to prove a point to get as many votes as he can. I feel that there are better ways to get your point across. Also, nixon did not say I approve this message at the end of this. Also i feel Nixon is trying to scare all the voters into voting for him.
i believe this ad could not be ran today simply because i believe that their is an understanding that it is not ok to use graphic images of war to your advantage. with that said, i believe it is ok to question your opponent on their policies regarding war. i draw the line at graphic pictures.
Yes, I think an ad like this could be run on TV today. Instead of the Vietnam war the ad would show the war in Iraq or maybe even 9/11. The content is really sensitive, but that’s the point to get a message across to the viewers. If America could handle commercials about starving children around the world or abused animals in shelters I think we would be able to handle an ad like this too.
I do not think ads like this could be run these days, but candidate can talk about his standing point as anti-war. Although anti-war could be a great standpoint, this ad’s visuals are just highly disgusting in my opinion. I do not think the audience will feel comfortable after watching it.
This ad could not be run today because of how graphic it was. Nixon also didn’t mention “I approve this message” at the end. This also provides negative feedback. Not all ads can be seen as effective. This one does raise a question on whether Nixon is the best candidate.
I would have to say no because of the graphic nature of the film and also the harsh truth’s he points out. It would have had a lot of negative feed back and some people might find it disturbing or inappropriate at this time. Even though anti-war and bring back the troops type of method is a big campaign boost for a candidate like it was for Obama. I also believe that he did make very valid points about the situation and the war in Vietnam and I personally wouldn’t have a problem with the ad now a days.
To be honest, I feel like this ad, or at least its general message, was used by Obama in his first campaign. Did he not say that American troops should be pulled out of the Middle East, which sort of happened? What’s surprising is how popular the end-of-the-world vibe is with past generations (Daisy Girl commercial, anyone?) and how current voters seem to appreciate a more optimistic tone, like Obama’s “Change” campaign. I think a lot of presidents have run on the whole “we need to save the country/world, vote for me” thing, but now it has just been revamped to sound more cheerful.
I once read that Americans are very fearful people, and I can’t totally disagree with that.
The content of this ad would cause an uproar in todays society. War is a touchy subject that most people tend to avoid talking about. The harsh reality of war would cause many citizens to speak out against the ads and possibly hurt the candidate who approved the ad. I don’t see this ad being able to get approved for public viewing because of the large possibility of negative feedback.
I do not believe this commercial would ever be aired nowadays. This commercial basically states that without Nixon the war will go on and it’ll only get worse. I think it’s ridiculous and would not be allowed. I think many people would find it offensive and would vote the complete opposite.
I think the graphics in the ad above would probably rub a lot of people the wrong way. Not only that but I don’t think people would appreciate the content being used in the ad. It might turn some people off to the candidate. It was also never mentioned in the ad that it was approved by Nixon, which is mandatory today. If it could be aired today I don’t know, but I don’t think it would be in the candidates best interest to do so even if they could.
Probably not. Although the vivid images shared in this ad may be considered “too graphic” for viewers. But ultimately when you think about it, everyone watches the news and or television nowadays. Whether by choice, their parents, or second-hand noise in the background while working on something else. I will however say that campaigns like the one we just watch are far more entertaining than the atypical campaign rant to the opposition.
I think this Ad is too graphic to be aired in the United States in today’s society. People would be furious if this ad was shown. I think it shows too much violence and people would take this very offensive. It’s a reminder of all the fallen soldiers. I also think it would hurt the candidate. It represents a negative side of President Richard Nixon.
There is no way an ad like this could be run today with the graphics that were shown. The points he made were valid, but many people are emotional about war, and if they saw this on TV they might be offended by it. Also, the images may be too much for certain people to handle, as they may be sensitive towards it, and that would just turn them away from voting for the candidate who ran the ad. #PSC110
I think it could be run today. It doesnt show anything to graphic and it gets a message across. i don’t think it would be smart to run the ad because you can get torn to pieces be opposing canidates and critics.
I would say no because this ad is very grapich and would not be able to be aired in the US toay. Many people would be outraged if this ad was aired. emotions would get involved and i feel that if would be offensive to many people. some people cant comprhend or it might be to much for a person if it was aired.
No, it could not be run because there are some pictures that are graphic for some viewers. Many families had a direct tie to this war wether it be a family member in it or themselves and might be frustrated to see pictures like that. Nixon did not approve the message either.
This ad would never be able to be shown on tv today. It is extremely graphic and not age appropriate for children, who often watch television now. The ad touches on a sensitive topic and does not really seem to consider the impact it can make on viewers.