With the General Election quickly approaching, political advertising continues to gain momentum and do their part in affecting who will be elected president on November 3, 2020. 2020 has presented itself as quite a unique and unforgettable year, painted with a global pandemic, economic collapse, and national protests against systemic racism and police brutality. One might presume that the ads for the upcoming election will reflect all that 2020 has been characterized by; but with political campaign ads, you never truly know what you’re going to get until you’re on the couch absolutely shocked and baffled by the content of ads in between your favorite TV show. “Do whatever it takes to win” might be an understatement for some past and present political campaign ads, as some candidates take the best, worst, awkward, or undeniably terrible route in using ads as a winning mechanism. Take a look below for some interesting political campaign ads!
DONALD TRUMP’S 2016 AD AGAINST HILLARY CLINTON: “Dangerous”
Then Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump depicts a Clinton America as one with “ISIS on the rise…North Korea threatening…Iran promoting terrorism..” and a foggy, unclean environment that is cleared by Trump’s presence accompanied with sunshine. This particular ad paints Clinton in an unflattering, sickly light (or perhaps darkness). Moreover, it might have begged the question of, “Americans, do we want a president who sniffs and even worse…coughs?”
ERIC GREITENS’ 2016 AD FOR GOVERNOR OF MISSOURI: “Big Guns”
In this ad, Eric Greitens is a decorated military veteran running for governor of Missouri who is giving the people of Missouri what they want: To see him fire powerful weaponry as perhaps a way to paint himself as a conservative warrior who can handle high-caliber, machine guns (and maybe even do so amid ISIS leadership). The bigger the gun, maybe not always the better, as the NRA endorsed Greiten’s Democratic opponent.
TED CRUZ’S 2018 AD AGAINST BETO O’ROURKE FOR U.S. SENATE:
In the 2018 race for U.S. Senate in Texas, Senator Ted Cruz may have contributed positively to his Democratic opponent, Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s, campaign by sharing a video of O’Rourke speaking about holding law enforcement accountable. Referring to Botham Jean, an African American man shot in his own home by a police office who claimed to mistake his home for hers, O’Rourke shared, “”How can that be just in this country? How can we continue to lose the lives of unarmed black men in the United States of America at the hands of white police officers? That is not justice. That is not us. That can and must change.” Although his Democratic opponent made what countless consider to be a valid point, Senator Cruz used the video to assert O’Rourke’s position against the police. Maybe a good tactic…maybe not?
THE NRSC’S AD AGAINST MARK KELLY: “He Just Gets Paid”
In this ad, Mark Kelly, Democratic nominee for the 2020 U.S. Senate in Arizona, faces scrutiny for allegedly allowing the Chinese Communist Party to invest in him and his companies. Despite the message being relayed to audiences, an astronaut can be seen having what looks like a good time in space. The ad asserts that “Mark Kelly doesn’t stop, he just gets paid.” In like manner, the astronaut doesn’t stop, he just keeps dancing!
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