Page 119 - An Introduction to Political Communication Fifth Edition

Intro to Politics Communication (5th edn)-p.qxp 9/2/11 10:55 Page 98

COMMUNICATING POLITICS
A typology of political advertising

As political advertising evolved in the US, political scientists attempted to
identify the main stylistic conventions of the genre. Based on an analysis of
more than 30 years of political spots, one observer has listed eight types
(Devlin, 1986).
In the beginning, as already noted in our discussion of ‘Eisenhower
Answers America’, ads were primitive, in so far as their rehearsed, con-
structed quality was obvious to the viewer.
Then came talking head spots, designed ‘to focus on an issue and allow
the candidate to convey an image impression that he can handle the issues,
and most importantly, that he can handle the job’ (ibid., p. 26). An early
example of this type was Richard Nixon’s 1956 ‘Checkers’ speech delivered
to the nation on paid-for television time, in which, as Eisenhower’s vice-
presidential running mate, he sought to counter allegations of corruption.
During the 1992 campaign the format was used by Ross Perot to address the
American people on economic issues.
The aforementioned negative type of political ad is generally accepted to
have fully emerged in the 1960s, becoming more visible ever since, as has the
production (or concept) ad, designed to convey ‘important ideas about
candidates’ (ibid., p. 27). Concept ads avoid overly personalising a campaign
(Jamieson, 1986), seeking instead to project ‘the big idea’ about a candidate.
The Reagan ‘concept’, for example, was frequently expressed in terms of
‘getting government off the backs of the people’, or ‘being tough with the
commies’. George Bush’s was ‘experience’ and ‘reliability’, while Bill
Clinton’s successful 1992 concept was ‘a time for change’ – the need for it,
and the suggestion that he embodied it. Obama’s big concepts were ‘Change
you can believe in’, and ‘Yes, we can’.
Cinéma-vérité spots are those which depict the candidates in ‘real life
settings interacting with people’ (Devlin, 1986, p. 29). We referred above to
the tactic often used by incumbents of using archive news footage to show a
candidate being ‘presidential’, ‘governorial’, etc. The cinéma-vérité technique
may also be used in more informal settings such as meet-the-people walk-
abouts, or in depicting scenes from a candidate’s home or work life (one of
Jimmy Carter’s 1976 spots showed him at work on his Georgia peanut farm).
It goes without saying that such footage will often be scripted and
rehearsed, even if the intention is to give the impression of spontaneity and
informality.
Devlin also identifies two forms of what Jamieson calls ‘personal witness’
ads (1986), in which the views of non-candidates are enlisted for the
purposes of endorsement. Those interviewed may be the man-in-the-street
[sic], using vox pop techniques to demonstrate the ‘ordinary voters’ support
for a candidate. More commonly, personal witness ads are testimonials, in
which the endorsing is done by famous and respected personalities from the

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