Here is an ad from 1960. Senator John F. Kennedy was running for President against Vice President Richard M. Nixon. In this ad, the Kennedy team decided to use President Dwight Eisenhower’s own words against Nixon. This is a classic “Them on Them” type of ad. Do you think a “Them on Them” ad is an effective ad to use in a campaign?
Posted in General Political Science
Tagged 1960, Ad, Dwight Eisenhower, JFK, President, Richard Nixon
The first Presidential campaign to utilize television as a campaign ad medium was for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952. General Eisenhower was not the most telegenic candidate, but his campaign team made it clear that they would do whatever it could to reach as many people as possible through television. Most of Eisenhower’s ads were positive in content. Here is one of them:
What present day campaign ad techniques are also found in the Eisenhower ad from 1952?
Herbert Hoover
There are three types of Presidents. The first type is the President who once held a prior elected position. That includes those who were elected as Congressmen, US Senators, and Governors. Then there are those Presidents who were once in the military, but did not hold an elected position at one time. Included in that category are George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. The third category of Presidents is Herbert Hoover. Hoover did not hold any elected government experience nor did he serve in the military. His highest position in government was his role as Secretary of Commerce. In the time before Hoover’s election in 1928 and in the time after his defeat in 1932, Presidents have come from either a military or elected background or both. It seems as if the sign on the White House reads, “Outsiders Need Not Apply”. Why do believe that is the case?
In honor of Presidents’ Day, I’m displaying a list of the top 10 greatest Presidents as determined by the Siena College Research Institute Presidential Ranking Survey. Results from that 2010 poll can be found here.
In their survey, the top rated President was Franklin D. Roosevelt, followed by Teddy Roosevelt, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson in the Top 5. My list is in alphabetical order.
Who do you consider to be the country’s greatest President and why? Take the poll and explain your answer.
Here is one of the earliest political campaign television advertisements. It is from 1952 and it promotes the candidacy of then-General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower’s campaign was the first to effectively use television as a mode of political communication. What techniques do you see here in the ad that would capture the attention of the voting public? What techniques are used in campaign ads today to capture the public’s attention?
Posted in 1952, Commercials, Elections, Voting
Tagged 1952, 1956, Ads, Advertising, Commercials, communication, Dwight Eisenhower, Eisenhower, Elections, Political Communication, Presidency, Republican Party, Stevenson, Voting
Politics Matters 