The :30 Second Presidential Candidate

In the spirit of Election Day today, here's a link to some great information from a Wisconsin PBS production called The 30-Second Candidate. It chronicles the history of political TV advertising from the first ads in the early 1950s through the presidential campaign in 1996.

Check out the Tricks of the Trade for a neat walk-through on ways to put together elements in a political ad FOR or AGAINST a candidate using exactly the same footage.

It's also definitely worthwhile to flip through the Rosser Reeves Collection. Awesome photos and videos from over 50 years ago, including media-buying documents (with rates!) and storyboards. Fascinating guy, here's a little more about Reeves:

One of the best ad men was Rosser Reeves. He'd made a name for himself creating campaigns for big clients like Anacin, Colgate, and M&M's. Famous for catchy slogans like "Melts in your mouth, not in your hands," Reeves was approached by a group of Texas business men to come up with a Republican slogan to compete with the Democrats' "You Never Had It So Good."

Instead of a mere slogan, Reeves pitched an entire campaign. Republican presidential candidate Dwight Eisenhower would speak to voters' chief concerns in a series of short television "spots" airing shortly before the November election. "Eisenhower Answers America" was just underway.

In any case, it's a great look back on the progression of political advertising in the medium. Check it out!



(Courtesy of PBS)