http://livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1988
“Bay” was probably my favorite ad from the 1988 Presidential Election. A lot of the Bush ads were attack ads on Dukakis, so it was nice to see him fighting back against them. I especially liked this because some of the information provided said that several of the Bush’s attack ads stated incorrect information about Dukakis, which ultimately changed opinions of him and played a role in Dukakis losing the election. This made me like to see Dukakis trying to write some of those wrongs.
“Bay” was largely about environmental issues and basically stated that Dukakis was the better candidate on environmental issues. It also listed a bunch of ways that Bush had worked to support policies that harmed the environment. To me, environmental issues are really important and I think this ad gave Dukakis a huge edge over Bush in that arena, especially considering Bush said nothing in any of his ads about helping the environment.
http://livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1988
I also liked the ad “On Your Side.” It fought back against some of the rumors Bush was spreading about Dukakis. It also clearly outlined where Dukakis stands on a variety of issues. I also liked that some of these issues were issues that Bush never touched on, so it gave us a look at how Dukakis will work on a wide variety of issues. The only reason this was not my favorite ad was because it was a little long at 4 minutes and 20 seconds. That really would not hold my attention and there is no chance I would watch the whole thing, but I do understand that in 1988 people might have been watching more commercials than people now can tolerate.
I find it very interesting that a 1988 campaign ad focused around environmental issues. Only in recent presidential issues has climate change been recognized as an important part of policy, so it seems to me Dukakis was way ahead of his time in that aspect.
I find it nice to hear that Dukakis was fighting back on all of the attacks and rumors that Bush was using in his campaign ads. I also agree with the fact that although some ads might be great, they are far too long and would not be effective in gaining the attention of the audience, let alone convince someone to vote.