My favorite ad was the 1964 Democratic ad called Accomplishments. When evaluating the ads, I watched I was looking for two things: did I personally like the ad? And did I think it was a good campaign ad? The Accomplishments ad succeeded on both fronts for me. Personally, I like ads that focus on past successes, future goals, and the ideals the candidate is bringing to the table. This ad does all of those things, by listing Johnson’s accomplishments and weaving them into the American ideals, making them all the more effective. I particularly liked his focus on the War on Poverty and civil rights efforts.

However, this was also a good campaign ad in its own right. The ad very effectively draws Johnson and Kennedy together, effectively saying they’re the same. At the time, Kennedy was an American hero and incredibly popular. By making himself Kennedy’s successor, Johnson was able to use Kennedy’s popularity to increase his own. Despite all this, the ad isn’t perfect. The mention of the Tonkin Gulf for example, and how he, “turned back communism” is a falsehood, as we all know. Rather than turning back communism, Johnson would help drag us into a brutal and long-lasting war that would cost tens of thousands of lives only to end in a complete communist victory. While of course all of this hadn’t come to pass, Johnson already knew that he hadn’t won a complete victory in the Tonkin Gulf incident, and yet chose to put that forward anyway. This wasn’t Johnson’s first lie, and it wouldn’t be the last. However, I still see this as my favorite ad for the reasons previously listed, despite lie about Tonkin.