Since television sets became common household objects, politicians have used them to gain support for their campaign and also try to discredit their opponent. Since the 1952 election, the advertisements have changed in many ways but there is the common theme of attacking the other candidates. The issues varied based on the time period but revolved around similar themes; the economy, civil rights, and foreign policies.
The 1952 election was between Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson. Eisenhower tried to relate to his audience by seeming to get personal. Several of his advertisements were titled “Eisenhower Answers America” and featured someone asking Eisenhower a question on his presidency. He used this to to convince Americans that …show more content…
Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Kennedy, like Eisenhower, took a more personal approach to his campaign. One of his advertisements was him having a one-on-one talk with a family to answer questions and respond to concerns of the time period. Kennedy tried to assert himself as an open and friendly family man by addressing his religion as well as using the public’s interest in his wife to gain support. Nixon, however, presented himself as an experience and mature candidate. He used his history as vice president as evidence in his ability to preform and used Eisenhower’s opinions of him to gain support. The main issues of the time were civil rights and communism. Kennedy and Nixon had similar points of view on both issues, but Kennedy put more emphasis on the domestic agenda while Nixon focused more on foreign policies. In this election, as well as the last, both parties attacked each other. Nixon was implied to be incompetent with a seemingly edited clip of Eisenhower and Kennedy was accused of not being honest. This is a difference from the 1952 election where it was the Republican Party that was being accused of being …show more content…
Most candidates tried to appeal to the audience’s emotions. They would try to make themselves look more likeable yet powerful and try to make the other party, or parties, look untrustworthy and two-faced. Past advertisements were not as bad as recent years but there were malicious ads even back in the 1952 election. Politicians continue to use this tactic to gain votes because it works; in all the elections mentioned, the candidate that attacked the other most is the one who went on to win. Using short ads on large broadcasting systems sends out the information to nearly everyone in the country. Short headlines that are shown are taken out of context to, again, evoke emotion for the citizens. A vast majority of people do not fact check these allegations and believe what they hear. If the other candidate for president seems untrustworthy to someone, they will not vote for them. A change throughout time would be how the information is presented. In the 1952 and 1960 elections, cartoons and songs were used to campaign. In 1964 and 1968, picture montages were popular. 2012 was different in that it had the candidates in casual environments and had more common people in
The 1952 election was between Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower and Adlai Stevenson. Eisenhower tried to relate to his audience by seeming to get personal. Several of his advertisements were titled “Eisenhower Answers America” and featured someone asking Eisenhower a question on his presidency. He used this to to convince Americans that …show more content…
Kennedy and Richard Nixon. Kennedy, like Eisenhower, took a more personal approach to his campaign. One of his advertisements was him having a one-on-one talk with a family to answer questions and respond to concerns of the time period. Kennedy tried to assert himself as an open and friendly family man by addressing his religion as well as using the public’s interest in his wife to gain support. Nixon, however, presented himself as an experience and mature candidate. He used his history as vice president as evidence in his ability to preform and used Eisenhower’s opinions of him to gain support. The main issues of the time were civil rights and communism. Kennedy and Nixon had similar points of view on both issues, but Kennedy put more emphasis on the domestic agenda while Nixon focused more on foreign policies. In this election, as well as the last, both parties attacked each other. Nixon was implied to be incompetent with a seemingly edited clip of Eisenhower and Kennedy was accused of not being honest. This is a difference from the 1952 election where it was the Republican Party that was being accused of being …show more content…
Most candidates tried to appeal to the audience’s emotions. They would try to make themselves look more likeable yet powerful and try to make the other party, or parties, look untrustworthy and two-faced. Past advertisements were not as bad as recent years but there were malicious ads even back in the 1952 election. Politicians continue to use this tactic to gain votes because it works; in all the elections mentioned, the candidate that attacked the other most is the one who went on to win. Using short ads on large broadcasting systems sends out the information to nearly everyone in the country. Short headlines that are shown are taken out of context to, again, evoke emotion for the citizens. A vast majority of people do not fact check these allegations and believe what they hear. If the other candidate for president seems untrustworthy to someone, they will not vote for them. A change throughout time would be how the information is presented. In the 1952 and 1960 elections, cartoons and songs were used to campaign. In 1964 and 1968, picture montages were popular. 2012 was different in that it had the candidates in casual environments and had more common people in