Politics and advertising have a larger amount in common than most people would like to admit. Both rely on a bit of showmanship and persuasion to bring people into their embrace, whether it be for an individual candidate or a company’s product. Though the two have always been significantly intertwined come election season, it’s only been in the last seventy years that political advertising has matured to the degree that they brought up in the same conversation when it comes to the best advertisements. With the upcoming US 2020 election, we wanted to delve into the campaign bunkers to find the best political ads of all time, as well as those that brought social movements to the forefront. Whether you agree with the messages or not, we can’t hope but admire the message discipline and dedication these ad makers brought to their work.
Production Company | Agency: Walt Disney Productions
One of the first televised political ads, this ad epitomized the cheerful side of presidential candidate and World War II hero Dwight D. Eisenhower and popularized the famous ‘I Like Ike’ phrase. With lyrics by songwriter Irving Berlin and animation provided by Walt Disney Animation Studios, “I Like Ike” was a masterstroke for the Eisenhower campaign and foretold the convergence of pop culture and politics in the years to come.
Director: Sid Myers
Agency: Doyle Dane Bernbach (DDB)
Most televised political ads from the early days of television were warm, carefree animated commercials that could easily have been mistaken for selling cereal if not for names like ‘Kennedy’ or ‘Ike’. This ad, however, pivoted to the polar opposite end of the spectrum, warning of the danger of nuclear annihilation that awaited the US if Republican candidate Barry Goldwater were to assume the presidency over Democrat Lyndon Johnson. Controversial then and since, “Daisy” helped spark the beginning of negative advertising in politics for better or worse.
Director: John Pytka
Production Company: Pytka Productions
Agency: Tuesday Team Inc.
The 1980s have a reputation in pop culture built on not only influential movies and revolutionary music, but also for the conservative governments that dominated the United States and the United Kingdom throughout the decade. In America, there was a sense of sunny optimism that came to define the Ronald Reagan White House. “Morning in America” was created in-house for the 1984 election, seeking to show off how Reagan’s stewardship ignited a rebirth in American prestige alongside a then-humming economy. Combined with narrator Hal Riney’s folksy voiceover, the ad helped seal Reagan’s reelection with a staggering 58.8% of the popular vote over his opponent.
Director: Joe Pytka
Production Company: Pytka Productions
Agency: Keye/Donna/Pearlstein
Part of an anti-drugs advertising campaign first concocted by the then-Partnership for a Drug-Free America, “Brain on Drugs” is mainly remembered for both the simplicity of its message and its production. Running for a mere 15 seconds, it provided a deeply stark message on the effect hard narcotics could do to the human mind all with the help of a cracked egg and a skillet. Though the initial campaign was met with mixed success, the imagery conjured by this ad would go on to be referenced and parodied for years to come, including (ironically) crime drama Breaking Bad.
Director: Pam Ferderbar
Production Company | Agency: Frankenberry Laughlin Constable
One of the most controversial political ads ever made, “Revolving Door” was masterminded by the George H. W. Bush campaign to attack Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis. Shot in stark black and white, it was instantly linked to the infamous case of William Horton and the failure of the then-Massachusetts governor’s prison furlough programme. With staggering imagery and primetime news coverage, this ad both harnessed fear and established Bush as Reagan’s heir.
Director: Jeffrey Tuchman
Production Company | Agency: Clinton - Gore Creative Team
Bill Clinton was a relatively unknown Arkansas governor when he made the decision to run for US president during the 1992 election season. A truncated variant of a short film shown during that year’s Democratic National Convention, “Man from Hope” was a brief but impactful look on the then-candidate with emphasis on his small-town roots in Hope, Arkansas. In a short amount of time, it worked to sell Clinton as a hard-working, ethical candidate, helping to usher him into the White House.
Director: Jesse Dylan
Production Company | Agency: will.i.am Music Group
One of the first exclusively online campaign ads ever made, the Barack Obama presidential campaign was assisted with the celebrity help of music artists Will.i.am and Jesse Dylan. Setting music to one of Obama’s signature phrases, this four-minute music video ad was an unorthodox mix of politics, music, and celebrity that would go on to become a signature fixture of the Obama White House.
Director: Sonejuhi Sinha
Working double-time as both an ad for the Hilary Clinton presidential campaign and as a PSA against sexism, this commercial uses a simple interview set-up with different groups of women detailing their stories of harassment. It reclaimed then-candidate Donald Trump’s verbal attacks and repurposed them as a rallying cry for young women. Though it did not help Clinton reach the White House, it did bring renewed attention to the often-overlooked stigmatization of women in American society.
Production Company | Agency: TBWA\Chiat\Day
Taking a step away from election ads, Apple, with the help of its longtime ad agency partner TBWA\Chiat\Day, crafted this environmentally-focused commercial showing off its iPhone’s camera work. Though ostensibly made to show off the high-fidelity promised by the iPhone brand, it was also a reminder of the wonders that planet Earth provided in all its beauty. The additional narration provided by the late Carl Sagan was also keen to note that this is the only planet that we have and that we need to protect it in any way we could. It was a call to climate action at a time when it was beginning to emerge at the forefront of the public’s mind.
Production Company | Agency: The Lincoln Project
The most recent ad on this list is also the most relevant of the lot. Masterminded by a group of ex-Republican Party consultants known as the Lincoln Project, “Mourning in America” is a twisted inverse of the aforementioned ‘Morning in America’ ad. Gone is Ronald Reagan’s sunny optimism and in is a pervading pessimism that feels especially suited for the 2020 calendar year. This ad quickly went viral for its stinging rebuke of US President Donald Trump’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and was quick to sell the Lincoln Project as versatile political ad-making virtuosos. Whether or not this ad will help shift the 2020 US presidential election remains to be seen but its dark reimagining of the American landscape is certainly one that will linger for years.
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More often that not, politics is usually an aspect of life that is only brought to the forefront every few years or so depending on which country you live in. Yet, when the campaign engines rev up, advertising remains at the forefront of communicating grand ideas and selling voters on a candidate’s platform. You can find many of these ads here on the right.video search engine, among many others from either US political circles or other countries. We hope that these choices are the perfect gateway to the world of political advertising and that they show off what goes into the art of not just selling a product, but selling an idea.
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