Campaign Commercials

Serious or superfluous? Truth or propaganda? These are some of the questions we must ask as we view political campaign commercials. Often influential and sometimes backfiring, political parties and their public relations teams attempt to discuss the issues of the day and portray their candidate as the best man for the job. Often, this entails little more than communicating how their opponent is the worst man for the job.

The Living Room Candidate is a fantastic archive of Presidential campaign commercials from 1952 to 2004. From the web site…

The Living Room Candidate: Presidential Campaign Commercials 1952-2004 is an innovative online exhibition presenting more than 250 television commercials from every election year beginning in 1952, when the first campaign ads aired, and including ads from this year�s campaign. Users can watch nearly four hours of TV commercials and explore the expanding world of Web-based political advertising. The site includes a searchable database and features commentary, historical background, election results, and navigation organized by both year and theme. Each commercial selected is accompanied by a list of related commercials in order to help guide the viewer through the collection.

Some highlights include: