America Wearing Ad Analysis

In 1952, “Eisenhower Answers America” played on every television set across the United States. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his team were the first to ever broadcast a political campaign ad on television. Since then, nearly every political candidate seeks to target Americans more directly, personally, and visually through the use of aired advertisements. Whether an ad shows a smiling family, features a catchy jingle, or displays a montage of poor images of an opposing candidate, its primary objective is to appeal to and to persuade voters to elect a certain nominee. Furthermore, each ad includes some form of psychological or logical appeal to try to beguile the audience. Regardless of the blatancy of these characteristics, most …show more content…
The ad commences by presenting the audience with a series of black-and-white images of craftsmen, tradespeople, and factory workers. These workers are either working or posing for the camera’s panorama. Interestingly, none of these people look completely satisfied or content with what they are doing; two men in particular look stressed, exhausted, and somber. Soon, however, the video’s overall atmosphere quickly shifts to one with a more positive, uplifting, and hopeful nature. A colorless clip of welders in a factory appear, but as their sparks and flames leave the torches, color floods the screen. This same color pattern resumes, but instead of workers, the producers choose to include images of inner cities and aerial views of cities. Yet another craftsman’s face floods the screen in black and white, but as he smiles, color saturates the image. This craftsman is a member of a group of workers presumably building a skyscraper. To conclude this ad, the camera pans out to reveal a bird’s eye view of a city that is an architectural …show more content…
“It will be American steel...that will fortify America’s crumbling bridges,” “that rebuilds our inner cities,” and “that sends our skyscrapers soaring.” A multitude of America’s structures and cities crumble, and American steel can reconstruct them. The inclusion of the “America” theme conveys that anything that is American is superior to and stronger than anything else. By implying this, the producers strive to gain voters’ support to help make America’s structures sturdier and more American. Additionally, the theme evokes a sense of patriotism amongst Americans, and oftentimes people want to act on something that is patriotic and seems important to the