My favorite advertisement out of the 1984 election was Reagan’s ad called “Peace.” I like this advertisement because it took less of a political approach and focused on the value of family. Within the ad, Reagan and his campaign team focus on changing America for the kids and finding peace. It shows young kids playing happily together and pulls the audience in emotionally. Surprisingly, this ad showed a variety of ethnic kids but still gives off the typical white family sense. Within all the ads, Reagan gives off a white american dream vibe. It does not address the issues of racism, crime, immigration, or other diverse problems within the United States. This was very interesting to watch especially when analyzing his opponent, Mondale. Mondale solely addressed taxes and what his opponent was doing wrong. He never addressed the other social issues going on during that period.
I found these advertisements interesting when comparing them to the podcast. The media has completely changed leadership in both good and bad ways. Presidents and other people in government were able to attract people through their visual appeal. I also find this interesting because social media has only gotten more apparent in the present-day through sites like Twitter, Instagram, and more.
I liked this campaign commercial a lot! The family values aspect of it is something that a fair share of the American population could rally behind as people who are parents and/or guardians would not want their children to grow up and live in a world full of armed conflict; they would not want their children to live in a world that without peace and liberty.
I think it is super important for candidates to be relatable to the general population. By focusing on family, rather than taxes or slandering the opponent, Raegan allows viewers to align their own values of family with his and potentially vote for him because of their commonality.
I completely agree with your opinion on the effectiveness of a campaigns approach to focus on something like family values. Family values is a topic that most people agree on, so it is an area that attracts many people regardless of party. This is definitely a good way that a candidate can use emotion to further expand their support base.
I also had the 1984 election. I did really enjoy the peace commercial as well. I also was shocked that every ad (Reagan and Mondale) were focused on taxes rather than social issues, although Reagan, in my opinion, did a better job at emotional and patriotic appeals. I find this interesting because of how prominent social issues are in more recent elections.