Page 129 - An Introduction to Political Communication Third Edition

COMMUNICATING POLITICS

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.
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 walkabouts, 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 worlds of
politics, entertainment, the arts, and sport. This is the political
advertisers’ variant of the association strategy used by commercial
advertisers described above. In testimonials, the authority and

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