Notable attack ads have been displayed over our airways since the 1950’s, starting first with a campaign called “Eisenhower Answers America”, which aired in 1952 (Source 2). This television ad criticized the Democrats and their foreign policy with regards to war in Korea, and prompted voters to believe it was time for a change. From then, negative attack ads over sources of media became common in the election process. Another famous political attack campaign in that of President George Bush, who ran against Michael Dukakis in 1988. Dr. John Geer, a political science professor from Vanderbilt University, notes that these ads were the first time a candidate incorporated a visual representation of the other candidate in their ads (Source 6).
