ABSTRACT

Ronald Reagan received almost $30 million in federal funds during the 1980 campaign. An analysis of the money spent on television advertising in the 1952 Eisenhower campaign uncovers some interesting comparisons. Most candidates in a long campaign use a multiplicity of ads and their ad makers create multiple generations of many different types of ads—often too many different types of ads. A mix of positive and negative ads is increasingly used to convince voters why they should vote for one candidate and not vote for the opposition. The first year in which color was used in presidential commercials was 1968, and color enhances the visual nature of television ads. Television is an excellent tool for conveying a memorable idea. Although Hart's ads were more graphically innovative all candidates used variations of the talking head, cinema verité, documentary, and production idea spots.