Page 123 - An Introduction to Political Communication Third Edition

COMMUNICATING POLITICS

This was based around the idea of ‘spontaneity’, in the sense that
Eisenhower’s television campaign would focus on his ability to be
spontaneous when meeting citizens, answering their questions and
presenting his policies with ease and accessibility.
This was indeed a ‘unique selling proposition’ in the context of
the time, and in some contrast to the approach of his opponent,
Adlai Stevenson, who conveyed an impression of serious bookish-
ness which, as with British Labour leader Michael Foot some
thirty years later, was perhaps better suited to the pre-television
age.
Eisenhower’s spontaneity was articulated in a series of
‘Eisenhower Answers America’ spots, showing him answering
questions from the American public. The setting up of the questions
and answers was far from being spontaneous, of course, and to a
1990s audience the results look stilted and clumsy. Eisenhower,
nevertheless, won the election, reinforcing a growing belief in
political advertising’s effectiveness as a campaigning instrument.
The ‘Eisenhower Answers America’ spots were primitive, but
nevertheless established political advertising as an essential element
of any self-respecting candidate’s armoury. From the 1952
campaign onwards, ‘spot’ political advertising increased in
sophistication and production values, acquiring what Diamond and
Bates describe as ‘distinctive rhetorical modes and visual styles’
(1992, p. x), with several trends clearly apparent.

The shrinking spot
First, US political ads have tended to become shorter in duration.
Although the Eisenhower spots were relatively brief (around
30 seconds), the 1956 campaign saw the introduction of five-minute
advertisements, sandwiched between popular entertainment
programmes in an effort to benefit from the latter’s large audience
share. Candidates also bought airtime in 30-minute chunks, which
were then used to elaborate at length on their policy positions.
Research found, however, that audiences quickly grew bored
with advertisements of such length, and switched off (literally or
figuratively). In response, political advertisers moved towards
shorter spots after 1956. With some exceptions (such as Ross
Perot’s 1992 presidential campaign) the preference of campaign
organisers ever since has been for 30- or 60-second spots. This
format is clearly not one in which campaign issues and candidates’
policies can be discussed at any length, giving rise to the afore-

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