If you read my post: Top 50 books for Political Operatives, you can probably tell that I take my political reading seriously. I recently stumbled upon an interesting new book that examines, one of my favorite topics, the use of emotional appeal in political advertising.

The book, titled, Campaigning for Hearts and Minds: How Emotional Appeals in Political Ads Work (Click here), is a must read for anyone interested in political media communications and advertising.

Author, TED BRADER, provides an in-depth analysis of varying political advertising strategies, with specific attention to non verbal cues, an aspect of political media rarely touched by others in academia.  He references and discusses well-known and obscure political advertising campaign tactics, which played an important role in recent and historical elections.

In his thorough examination, Brader makes a strong argument; that carefully crafted audio and visual elements used in political advertising effectively create an emotional appeal which has an intrinsic dramatic effect on viewer/voting audiences.

In 2006, I wrote a piece for Politics Magazine (aka Campaigns & Elections), which I similarly argued that emotional appeals are the strongest form of political communications and advertising.

While my piece dealt more specifically with the use of images and symbolism related to September 11th in political advertising, I held that content and techniques used to create emotion is critical for maximizing moving voter opinion and creating action.

Here’s some relevant highlights from my piece:

Provoking emotion is one of the most important aspects to any political activity. 

Successful campaigns usually create a situation or series of situations that draw emotion from audiences – constituents or voters.  Emotional connections made in speeches, press releases, direct mail pieces or television spots are fundamental to controlling the message and the issues in an election.

Emotional appeals almost always trump rational appeals when attempting to gain political support or create negative views about an opponent.  Voters are more apt to create positive or negative feelings about an issue or candidate through emotions and sentiments rather than rational or logical arguments.

Campaigning for Hearts and Minds goes into much greater depth in making this argument.

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This one hits hard. A spot titled “Tiny“, was just released by the McCain Campaign in perfect timing before Obama’s big nomination speech.

For decades, foreign policy, military and security issues have been a perceived weakness for national Democrats – an achilles heal, if you will.  Also, national security and dealing with outside threats of terrorism or war have been a largely solidifying issue for religious conservatives and more fiscal libertarian Republicans.

The Cold War under Reagan and Bush’s unmovable determination to root out terrorism kept Republicans together under one issue they can all agree on.  After the Cold War ended Republicans began to splinter.  Social Conservatives and small government Capitalist Libertarians woke up and decided they didn’t have much in common with each other anymore.  

Under Bush 43, Republicans began to unify again in perfect harmony, first for their mutual abhorrence for Bill Clinton, then with their shared belief that, after 9/11, terrorists would not be tolerated abroad under any circumstance.

As the the war in Iraq began to wane in media exposure, as a result of better military leadership and more pressing domestic issues, we began to see grumbling within the GOP by fiscal libertarians, who were outraged by the notion of Republican members of Congress spending like drunk sailors and the perception that social conservatives had more weight within the party.

Now, as John McCain has found his voice, gained momentum, and as he begins to to make his case to the voters of the United States, we are seeing the makings of a foreign policy appeal within the framework of-  ”is Obama ready to lead?” – theme.

McCain can keep Social Conservatives and Fiscal Republicans on board together, against Obama, if they see him as weak on Iran, the next perceived threat to America’s existence.  This will allow McCain to maintain and grow his base, driving up overall Republican support, while also appealing to Independents and soft Democrats that turn to Republican candidates in times of threat and crisis.  

The McCain camp has vigorously, and successfully, set-up the argument within the framework of the ongoing questioning surrounding Obama’s experience and leadership skills through a series of hard-hitting spots and web videos.

Now the McCain campaign releases this spot, titled “Tiny.”  Which takes the message to a new more critical level – effectively striking into the key emotion of fear.

A must read  from this past Sunday’s New york Times is a piece by PAUL VITELLO titled, How to Erase that Smear.  Vitello reminds readers that attack campaigns, enlisted by politicians seeking office, have been around since the days of our founding fathers.  Below I have included excerpts of Vitello’s piece and sprinkled in some of my commentary and analysis.

When Thomas Jefferson found himself accused of planning to burn all Bibles and legalize prostitution if elected president in 1800, he was ready with a counterpunch that might make today’s most vitriolic campaign operatives stop short, if only to gape upon the greatness that once was presidential campaign slander.

Jefferson’s rival, President John Adams, was endowed with a “hideous hermaphroditical character, which has neither the force of a man, nor the gentleness and sensibility of a woman”; and if re-elected he would crown himself king; and, by the way, he was “mentally deranged.”

The author of the attacks was not Jefferson himself, of course, but a master poison-pen pamphleteer named James Callender, who, historians have since determined, was bankrolled completely by Jefferson. (For his efforts, Callender spent nine months in prison under the Sedition Act for saying those things about a sitting president; Jefferson pardoned him immediately after defeating Adams and taking office.)

Essentially, negative smear campaigning is as Americana as apple pie and is arguable an older past time than baseball.

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What are America’s “fictional Everyman couple” doing now? The stars of the famed 1994 TV ad, Harry and Louise are back for some more – 14 years later to be exact.

The original spot centered around two actors, who effectively portrayed an average working class couple, distraught by the flawed healthcare system which was then being touted by first-lady Hillary Rodham Clinton .  The spot became the focal point of the opposition’s message, which effectively derailed Clinton’s socialized healthcare reform agenda.

This time conveying a somewhat different message, the couple engages in another discussion on healthcare, this time encouraging John McCain and Barack Obama to make healthcare reform a center of their message for America:

The spot will air through both conventions on a variety of cable and broadcast media. It is intended to influence both party’s leaders and policy makers expected to visit Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul media markets over the next three weeks.

See the original Harry and Louise spot after the jump

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The 1988 Willie Horton “Weekend Passes” ad will forever be remembered for its effectiveness at driving home a negative message against Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis. The ad was written by Floyd Brown, then a consultant to the National Security Political Action Committee.

Twenty years later, hard at work in Seattle, Brown is working to produce an Obama version of the Dukakis ad. He was interviewed last week by the Seattle Times. 

“I’m going to go dig up the information that the mainstream media is scared of, the McCain campaign finds difficult to deal with, and may make some people feel uncomfortable,” Brown said.

Brown is releasing an ad on his Web site and YouTube every other week and is spreading his message through mass mailers and phone banks. Galleys of his new book, “Obama Unmasked,” are stacked in the barren office he’s renting through November.

Despite modest funding, mainly from online donors, Brown’s efforts have been singled out by the Obama campaign as a prime example of the dangers the candidate faces from attacks by independent groups. 

While the ‘88 Horton ad cost $100,000, Brown is producing everything today on his laptop. While controversial, here are two of his spots that would have the ability to move poll numbers : (more…)

While I already thought most operatives, and most voters for that matter, finally agree that ‘negative ads’ work in demonstrating an effective position about an opponent, here is another argument by a real pro to add to the mix.

Famous and yet equally infamous democratic strategist, MARK PENN, who served as a top adviser to President Bill Clinton and recently to Hillary Rodham Clinton, writes about how negative ads work in today’s POLITICO.

Feel free to read Penn’s full piece after the jump – good stuff here.

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The Financial Times reports in an article, titled “Obama adviser blames McCain ad for poll dip“, that several key advisors believe that the McCain celeb Ad worked effectively in knocking Barack Obama down several points in the polls.

Mark McKinnon, media strategist, former McCain adviser who worked for both Bush campaigns, added:

I think they’ve crystallised their message and I think they’re hitting a nerve.

Political advertising is effective, he added, when it ties into an overall narrative. In this case, the message has been framed in a positive and negative way: that Mr McCain puts “country first”, while Mr Obama puts “Obama first”. The theme was repeated in a McCain advertisement released on Wednesday, showing flashing cameras and crowds chanting “Obama” as a voice asks, “Is the biggest celebrity in the world ready to help your family?

According to other sources, the Obama campaign is having a difficult time responding to this line of attack. It appears, allowing Obama to create the uber-personality image has exposes his weakness in substance and the ability to connect on the most important issues affecting Americans.

Since the Celeb Ad broke, the insiders in Washington grumbled and poured on the negative.  In this space and in other discussions I have been a strong supporter of this line of attack.  It’s success derives from a three part tactic:

• Hand Obama the personality campaign
• Put him on the defensive by calling it superficial
• Then forcing the discussion around issues, where McCain has a position of strength

In response to PATRICK RUFFINI’s post on why web videos trump TV ads

Recently, my friend and colleague Patrick Ruffini, whom I respect dearly, posted on the subject of ‘new media’ versus ‘traditional media.’ The subject is a new lightning rod for political marketers and advertisers – especially the ones that fall into the ‘new media’ camp.

Here is a third approach – one that addresses the values and weaknesses of both forms of media and how they intersect, compliment and supplement one another. 

The bottom line is – comparing ‘traditional media’ vs. ‘new media’ is like comparing apples and oranges, they are not mutually exclusive mediums for advertising and carrying messages – but different vehicles, that target different audiences, with different creative formats – each working best within their own confines of delivery.

Allow me to examine and respond to several of Patrick’s points: 

1. Unlike broadcast ads, web videos can move an edgier message

Web videos are a tried and true tool to move an edgy message, but not necessarily more so than broadcast spots.  If the point is to be edgy for the sake of edgy – then yes there are a lot more edgy web videos out there.  Some are smart and funny, others are dark and dramatic – done correctly, and they get a lot of views and thus a lot of play in the news media that follow such activity closely. (more…)

IRA TEINOWITZ reports in AdAge.com today that the McCain campaign is buying time for campaign spots to run on NBC during the Olympics. 

According to Teinowitz:

The McCain campaign made a last-minute $6 million ad buy, which tops the $5 million Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign announced last month it was buying during the Olympic Games, which begin Aug. 8. 

Like the Obama team’s ad buy, the McCain campaign’s purchase includes network and cable spots. NBC Universal is airing 3,600 hours of Olympics coverage on its broadcast network and cable networks including NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, USA Network, Oxygen and Telemundo. 

Teinowitz quotes, EVAN TRACEY, chief operating officer of the Campaign Media Analysis Group at TNS Media Intelligence as speculating that:

“the McCain campaign, which is accepting federal funds for the general campaign, made the last-minute buy to use up money it raised for the primary season. That money can’t be spent after the Republican National Convention, which is being held the first week in September.”