Objective

• I will be able to effectively "read" political advertisements and evaluate how political messaging can support or hurt democracy.

Some useful vocabulary:

• Endorsement: when a public figure makes an official announcement of support for one candidate or another.

• PAC (Political Action Committee): A non-profit group that raises money and campaigns on behalf of a candidate without being officially connected to them.

"Reading" Political Ads

Common tactics of political advertising

Character

Some ads promote the character of candidates. They try to reveal what kind of person they are by discussing their history and their family or emphasize their values.

How do these ads make you feel about the candidate as a person? Would they make a good president?

Attack Ads

Other ads attack the candidates rivals directly. They use ominous imagery and sound bites to attack the credibility of their opponents. Politicians hope that by damaging their opponents, they can make themselves look like the better option or, barring that, get their supporters to not vote out of disgust.

How do these ads make you feel? What do you notice about how they use sounds and images to convey something about a candidate?

Emotions

Good political ads often aim to instill feelings rather than give voters information about their candidate's qualifications or policies. That's ok! Emotions are a big part of how we relate to candidates.

But subtly cuing emotion is a tricky art and can be used to manipulate people How do the two ads below convey very different emotions?

Endorsements

Many political ads enlist prominent local allies or celebrities to appeal to voters in a given state or with a particular interest.

PACs

Presidents aren't the only ones who make ads. While individuals and corporations can only donate a maximum of $2,500 to a presidential campaign, since 2010, there are no such limits for donating to political groups that campaign on behalf of a candidate. These groups, called Political Action Committees of PACs, raise huge sums of money (often from sources they keep hidden) and conduct their own advertising on behalf of candidates.

Because they aren't directly associated with a candidate, PACs often make risky, misleading, or extremely negative ads - they will say things that candidates would rather not to avoid backlash. As a result many people are sharply critical of the freedoms of PACs.

The Good, The Bad, and the Weird

While presidential ads typically play it safe, some ads get a little weird. Sometimes they reflect unique aspects of a state's political culture or a candidate's personal history, to great effect. Sometimes they're funny! Other times... they're less successful.