From the category archives:

Television

Do big budgets beget better ads?

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You have no idea how lucky you are to work within a limited advertising budget. More money doesn’t buy a better message. In fact, I’d wager the contrary is more often true: awash with money, the urgency of making each penny count matters less.

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Ad countdown to a new president: Reagan

Undoubtedly the best piece of political advertising in my life is this: Morning in America. We're a country of people who believe in our ability to pull through. When Reagan shined the light of hope on the red, white, and blue…. The outcome was inevitable. Reagan and Obama can both be called masterful storytellers. Though[.....]

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Ad countdown to a new president: Bush 41

George Bush had lots of people to thank for knocking out Michael Dukakis. Willie Horton is high on that list. This ad so polarized voters, there was no coming back from it. Is it fair? Not entirely. Then again, playing fair hasn't been part of politics for longer than I can remember. And, for at[.....]

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Ad countdown to a new president: Carter

It was my first election. And, I voted for this guy. Anyone who knows me would demand proof. But, listen to his message. Carter was beta testing messaging that would play in liberal politics right through last November’s election. And, when they stay on message, look how many people drove this message all the way[.....]

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Ad countdown to a new president: Wallace

He stood against integration and busing and anything that broke down the walls separating the equal and the “more equal than.” Democratic governer George Wallace was up front with who he was and what he meant. The business end of a bullet took him down, but not out; shifting values and progress finished the job.
Wallace’s[.....]

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Ad countdown to a new president: Humphrey

The happy warrior, Hubert Humphrey paid the price for doing the right thing. He stood by his principles, though he knew them unpopular. Weeks before the election, he must have taken a slip of "wake the hell up" and realized he was in a popularity contest. He shifted his stance, but it was too late.[.....]

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Ad countdown to a new president: Nixon

Historic perspective casts an eerie glow over this one. Nixon's machine was a combine chewing up all that stood between him and the Oval Office. It was the first time I read of the concept of incumbency in advertising. Nixon had it from the git go and never let loose. How daunting it is to[.....]

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