Artifact Analysis Portfolio

Political advertisements

Political advertisement, also called campaign advertisement refers to the use of an advertising campaign through radio, television, magazines, newspapers, circulars, fliers, billboards, bumper stickers and internet website among others (Lunder 3). It aims at influencing the decisions made by the people of a certain region as far as voting is concerned. These advertisements are usually designed by both the political consultants and the staff of political campaigns. Political advertisements as a form of the campaign are normally used by political candidates in reaching and influencing voters (Lunder 6). There are very few rules and regulations governing the political advertising process thus; many political candidates tend to use various methods and techniques to influence their targeted audience. Unlike the political advertisement of the past, advancements in media technology have significantly streamlined the process, enabling the candidates to have more options to reach several people with very little physical effort. Current Political Advertisements in the United State of America The next elections for the president of the United States will be held on November 6th this year. This will be the 57th quadrennial presidential election where the presidential electors will be chosen to elect the president and the vice president officially on December 17th (Decker 21). Following this, there have been a lot of political advertisements among the presidential aspirants as each one of them tries his best to influence the citizens. These advertisements are being done through the media. In addition, there has been increased use of social media especially twitter where it has been used to communicate to the citizens on matters pertaining the candidate’s manifestos. With regards to this, we are going to look at political advertisements exhibited by three presidential aspirants of the United States. These aspirants include Barrack Obama who is the current US president and Republican Mitt Romney who is the former Massachusetts Governor (Decker 21). In addition, we are going to analyze them comparatively to determine how each appeal to and or demonstrate the beliefs of modern culture of the United States. President Barrack Obama Political Advertisements President Barrack Obama is running for the second and final term this year. His major challenger is Republican’s Mitt Romney. As we near the election date, president Obama is currently carrying a lot of political campaigns throughout the United States. First, president Obama has involved celebrities in his political advertisement (Melissa 100). These celebrities include actors, fashion icons, singers and basketball and football players. Not only that these actors have helped president Obama raise funds to support his campaign activities, but many of them has featured in one or more of his political advertisements. In the course of the last week, Obama for American campaign has come up with an advertisement featuring Jay-Z, who complimented president Obama by speaking of the importance of voting within communities that are within both America and Africa. Martin Ricky, during the same campaign, spoke of LBGT issues. His advertisement was filmed in both English and Spanish language targeting both LGBT and Latino voters. “Challenges”, is a recent political advertisement for ‘Obama for America’ narrated by Morgan Freeman. The advertisement mentions the death of Osama bin laden indirectly as one of achievement that has been fulfilled by president Obama. The video features US firemen under a news ticker announcing the death of Osama Bin Laden. It is evident that quite a large number of Obama’s celebrity supporters are female (Melissa 100). Therefore, it is not a big surprise that, throughout the elections, they are being featured prominently in his political advertisements. This is meant to target female voters all over the United States. Beyonce who is a singer was featured in an advertisement where she does not only speak of president Obama. Beyonce spoke on the benefits of having a black woman as Michelle Obama as the first lady of the United States. Apart, from political advertising via use of celebrities, president Obama is also using social network for campaign purposes (Melissa 100). This has occurred on twitter which has become very popular in the United States. Twitter has become richer and also more informative than television. Information on twitter also reaches people faster than that one of the television. Moreover, people engage in productive dialogues on twitter, which is not effective through television (Decker 21). People tweet to the comments of the president Obama and also share their opinions with the president. Matters arising are also addressed on twitter with a lot of transparencies. The president can know issues that concern the citizens. Political advertisements demonstrate some aspects of the modern culture of the United States. It has become a central feature of American culture. In recent times, political advertisement has become an essential tool in campaign strategy. Many people are regarding it more as intrusive than normal commercial advertising. With regards to president Obama political advertisements using celebrities, it creates a mentality to most people that he deserves to serve as president for four more years. This is so as many people are usually convinced by celebrities as seen in the modern US culture. Celebrities usually appeals to the US citizens as a role model thus; celebrity participation in his political campaign is highly recommendable. Republican Mitt Romney Political Advertisement The Mitt Rodney presidential political advertisements started when he launched his second candidacy for the United States presidency in an attempt to win in this year’s presidential elections (Decker 21). His candidacy was officially announced on June 2011 in New Hampshire. Just like president Obama, Mitt Romney is also highly campaigning as the election date nears. A Republican-learning independent group, which is supporting Mitt Romney to become the president of the United States, has spent 11.1 million dollars on new television advertisements, which are aimed at women. The set campaigns set to begin in a week’s time, and are expected to run for a whole week through eight states (Decker 21). Although, polls have shown that President Obama is leading among women, recent surveys show that the gap is narrowing. One of the advertisement “Sack It” aims at criticizing president Obama’s leadership. The advertisement shows a woman watching Obama campaign commercial where she asks about the jobs that he has promised to create. The woman then says that her family cannot afford to lose another four years. This line portrays Romney Mitt theme, which he keeps on emphasizing that the American cannot afford four more years like the last four years. The advertisements aim at convincing the US citizens not to vote for Obama as his weak leadership has created a weaker economy and a weaker American. The group has planned to air a political advertisement on both national and local cables in Florida, Colorado, Nevada, Ohio, Virginia, New Hampshire, Iowa and North Carolina (Decker 22). This group can raise and spend an unlimited amount of money on advertisements on behalf of the presidential candidate. This is allowed if they do not coordinate directly with the candidate that they support. When considering the political advertisement of Mitt Romney in relation to the culture of the United States, it is quite clear that it appeals to the people as a form of creating rivalry to opponents of the concerned candidate. It is true that a majority of advertising firms and even professional associations has portrayed lack of accountability and responsibility. This is because they are unwilling to adhere to the code of ethics. It is evident that the political advertisements on television by the Mitt Romney group aims at jeopardizing the reputation of president Obama as the group criticizes his leadership. The unfriendly tone of political advertising, which is the most common techniques used by political advertisers, has frequently raised a lot of questions regarding the objectives of political advertising (Decker 21). In relation to the political advertisements of Mitt Romney, it is true that the negativity featured in his advertisements is designed to reduce the ‘market’ instead of increasing the relative share of the sponsor. Conclusion Political advertisements are usually prominent during campaign seasons. Each advertisement usually comes up with a list of claims regarding the present state of government and also the records of a candidate or an opponent. Listening to many political advertisements can be confusing as most of them usually convey information, which is contradictory. This normally leaves the people in a state of dilemma unable to elect the leader that deserves the position. It is evident that political advertisements have increased in the United States as the presidential election date nears. The advertisements are being done through televisions, radios, newspapers and billboards among others. All these aim at influencing the US citizens to vote for the respective candidates. It is also clear that the advertisements have different appeals on the culture of the modern United States. Works Cited “Romney forced to broaden his attack on Obama; US ELECTION 2012 – WASHINGTON.” Age, the (Melbourne, Australia) 03 Oct. 2012: 10. NewsBank. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. Decker, Jon. “Obama and Romney: The Path To The Presidency.” Policy Review 174 (2012): 21. MasterFILE Premier Web. 18 Oct. 2012. Harris-Perry, Melissa. “What Obama Needs To Win In 2012.” Ebony 67.1 (2011): 100. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2012. Lunder, Erika K. “Political Ads: Issue Advocacy Or Campaign Activity Under The Tax Code?.” Congressional Research Service: Report (2012): 1-8. 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