Within the 2012 Democratic campaign ads, the “47 percent” ad was my favorite. In the ad, they showed Americans a video of Mitt Romney speaking to his donors at a high dollar fundraiser behind closed doors. To summarize, Romney said that 47% of Americans will vote for Obama no matter what, calling those people “victims” who are dependent on the government to care for them and think they are entitled to health care, food, housing, etc. Then he goes on to say that his job is not to worry about those people, because he will never convince them to vote for him. They then asked the Americans what they thought about what Romney had said. Everyone that was shown in the ad was very upset by Romney’s comments, disagreeing with the fact that half of the country behaves as victims who just want handouts. “I don’t think anybody is ever looking for a handout, I think that we all want chances and opportunities,” was one thing that a woman said. They thought his comments sent a bad message to the American people and showed his true character.

The reason why I liked this commercial so much was because it felt real and authentic. The interviews were done on the streets outside, so it looked like they were just random people walking by who were stopped for the video. Instead of hearing a politician or narrator try to convince me to vote for someone, it was nice to hear the voices of the American people and receive instant feedback of what other people thought. I think the ad was well done and got their point across very clearly. However, those interviews could’ve easily been staged and acted out, but out of all the ads I watched, this one felt the most authentic and convincing.