Are you not old enough to remember "The Crying Indian" from 1970? My dad used to throw bags of trash right out the car window when we finished our Val's 15 cent burgers in Danbury, Ct in the late 60's. Not after the this came out!
Most effective (although it was never aired) was The Daisy commercial of 1964.
In no uncertain way, the Johnson ad team tagged the semi-lunatic Goldwater, who offered: "Extremism in the Defense of Liberty is no vice," in his reckless discussion of using nuclear weapons.
Goldy was pretty much prescient for the full-lunatic reality of 2024.
The daisy ad aired one time during the 1964 campaign for his first election as President by Lyndon Baines Johnson against GOP nominee Senator Barry Goldwater. The Goldwater campaign complained and it was pulled. But the was SO memorable that it has been replayed to cumulative audiences of millions of American college students who took courses in journalism, advertising and American political campaigns.
I really thought this ad by the Obama campaign during the 2012 Presidential Campaign was a really good one. I think the imagery and the scenes of rundown factories and the Swiss flag added with Romney's eerie singing made it a really good attack ad.
Hi Chris. I agree with all of your top 7 political campaign ads. I would ad the Swift Boats ad against John Kerry; first on this list by a third-party advocacy group rather than a campaign itself.; and the blood hound ad used by Mitch McConnell in his first and sucessful Senate campaign against an incumbent;I earned a BS in Radio-TV-Film from Northwestern in 1984. I took separate courses in 1) advertising from Medill 2) political communication and 3) political rhetoric from the School of Speech (home to the R-TV-F Dept) and 4. US Presidential elections from the Poli Sci Dept in the College of Arts and Sciences (liberal arts core of the University. I saw every single one of your pre-1984 ads on your list in one or more of my courses. The daisy ad for LBJs campaign against Goldwater and the Bear and Morning in America ads for Reagan's re-election campaign against Mondale hold up so well. I was a Nashua, NH resident during HS. The visual image of Mike Dukakis wearing the mandatory military helmet standing up in a tank turret was so brutal. Candidates didn't wear hats for years afterward . I remember hearing then George HW Bush campaign ad guru, subsequently RNC Chairman Lee Atwater explain to me and a bunch of other GOP press aides the orgination for the Willie Horton ad. He claimed that he was in maybe WVA (?) and overheard a table of motorcycle biking dudes talking amongst themselves about this or that bring up how disturbed they were by thefurlough/release of Willie Horton when Dukakis was governor of Massachusetts. While on release, Horton terrorized a white couple and maybe murdered them?? Horton was actually first brought up in an ad against Dukakis during the Democratic primaries to win the Democratic nomination. Will you share any revelatory reactions by your students?
Chris, (young, young Chris)
Are you not old enough to remember "The Crying Indian" from 1970? My dad used to throw bags of trash right out the car window when we finished our Val's 15 cent burgers in Danbury, Ct in the late 60's. Not after the this came out!
Oh those were days!!! (Sadly!).
And throwing lite cigarettes out in mid-summer to start fires along the highway!! Scorched earth policy. ;-)
First commercial I thought of too!
I just remembered another one! Fred and Barney only smoke Winstons! Love that the wives are doing all the work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVRO6GAfvzA
Most effective (although it was never aired) was The Daisy commercial of 1964.
In no uncertain way, the Johnson ad team tagged the semi-lunatic Goldwater, who offered: "Extremism in the Defense of Liberty is no vice," in his reckless discussion of using nuclear weapons.
Goldy was pretty much prescient for the full-lunatic reality of 2024.
The daisy ad aired one time during the 1964 campaign for his first election as President by Lyndon Baines Johnson against GOP nominee Senator Barry Goldwater. The Goldwater campaign complained and it was pulled. But the was SO memorable that it has been replayed to cumulative audiences of millions of American college students who took courses in journalism, advertising and American political campaigns.
Thanks for that, Lisa. Wasn't sure if never or once. Stand corrected. C.
This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?
I always got hungry when I was stoned watching that PBA. ;-)
The pro-Obama "Vote Different" ad!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h3G-lMZxjo
Absolutely on the list.
Yes! We effected our own (localized) climate change back then!
And who can forget that Doc's recommended Camels over any other brand..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCMzjJjuxQI
OK, I'll stop now....
This one has been a longtime favourite of mine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7dfzNHfQmA
A good one!
I was living in the Bay state at the time, and I just don't remember the ad....it's excellent.
I do like the questioner has a MassAccent...they at least should have had him say it was to easy traffic conditions on the "Boston Haabaah!"
It was sent to me "way back when" by a friend who is a native Bostonian. We disagree on politics, but we both agreed that this ad was hysterical!
conspicuously missing from the list: https://archive.org/details/PolAd_DonaldTrump_rwn9h
Absolutely fantastic!!!
As he would say, "SAD!
Hillary Clinton’s 3 am phone call ad.
VERY memorable
I really thought this ad by the Obama campaign during the 2012 Presidential Campaign was a really good one. I think the imagery and the scenes of rundown factories and the Swiss flag added with Romney's eerie singing made it a really good attack ad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud3mMj0AZZk
Hi Chris. I agree with all of your top 7 political campaign ads. I would ad the Swift Boats ad against John Kerry; first on this list by a third-party advocacy group rather than a campaign itself.; and the blood hound ad used by Mitch McConnell in his first and sucessful Senate campaign against an incumbent;I earned a BS in Radio-TV-Film from Northwestern in 1984. I took separate courses in 1) advertising from Medill 2) political communication and 3) political rhetoric from the School of Speech (home to the R-TV-F Dept) and 4. US Presidential elections from the Poli Sci Dept in the College of Arts and Sciences (liberal arts core of the University. I saw every single one of your pre-1984 ads on your list in one or more of my courses. The daisy ad for LBJs campaign against Goldwater and the Bear and Morning in America ads for Reagan's re-election campaign against Mondale hold up so well. I was a Nashua, NH resident during HS. The visual image of Mike Dukakis wearing the mandatory military helmet standing up in a tank turret was so brutal. Candidates didn't wear hats for years afterward . I remember hearing then George HW Bush campaign ad guru, subsequently RNC Chairman Lee Atwater explain to me and a bunch of other GOP press aides the orgination for the Willie Horton ad. He claimed that he was in maybe WVA (?) and overheard a table of motorcycle biking dudes talking amongst themselves about this or that bring up how disturbed they were by thefurlough/release of Willie Horton when Dukakis was governor of Massachusetts. While on release, Horton terrorized a white couple and maybe murdered them?? Horton was actually first brought up in an ad against Dukakis during the Democratic primaries to win the Democratic nomination. Will you share any revelatory reactions by your students?
Gotta go with Morning in America
I wouldn't say most memorable TV ads ever, but these are some memorable ones from the past few years:
Ron DeSantis reading the Art of the Deal:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1YP_zZJFXs
Kelly Loeffler Attila the Hun:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pfvEFPvVGA
Brian Kemp trying WAY too hard:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/pzKZn5nllBA
I’m amazed the Daisy ad never mentioned the candidate they were going after. Were voters that astute? I know it was a very effective ad.
While I don't remember it, the Daisy ad has the WOW factor for me. Powerful and still true
A great reminder for all of us. Things are not always what they seem.
Demon sheep is one of my favorites!