Out of the ads I watched, I thought that the “Gray Dot” ad from the Bush campaign was the most powerful. The ad showed a split screen with two people. However, a gray dot covered both people’s faces so you could not identify them. The narrator goes on to talk about each candidate’s views, and they are completely opposites (for example, the narrator claimed that one candidate had never been called to serve in the army, and the other one had). At the end of the ad, the gray dot was removed and it turns out that both candidates were actually the same person (Bill Clinton).
I specifically liked this ad because it focused on leadership capabilities in general, rather than just attacking the opponent. In a lot of the other ads, the two candidates attacked specific flaws in the opponent’s policy. However, one of Bush’s main arguments was that we can’t have a leader who is on both sides of every argument, and in the White House, you have to make the tough calls and stick to it. I think that showcasing Bill Clinton’s apparent inability to stick with one side of the argument was used to demonstrate his potential flaws as president, especially during tough times.
I agree with you. I did not find the ads that attacked fellow candidates compelling. I think this is part of the reason that every candidates puts out so many, diverse advertisements because they are trying to keep their appeal as wide as possible.
This “gray dot” ad sounds really interesting because I also did not find advertisements that directly attacked the candidate’s opponent intriguing or convincing. In order to show the flaws of his opponent, I think it was a smart tactic to cover Clinton’s face because the ad did its job at displaying the issues with Bush’s opponent, but probably seemed like less of a direct attack.
This is an interesting strategy for an ad, and covering Clinton’s face gave him less exposure, even though the ad was about him. It denied a candidate known for his looks and charm the opportunity to use them. I do think that this ‘both sides’ tactic could backfire, as it could show that Clinton is able to lead and empathize with all people, not just Democrats.