Lyndon B. Johnson (“Daisy”) vs. Barry Goldwater

Ronald Reagan (“America’s Back”) vs. Walter Mondale

Political Advertisements and Persuasion

EXPLORE VISUAL AND SOUND ELEMENTS: CREATE A TONE Form pairs to experiment in the creation of two ads, following these steps: Draw, paint, or photograph a set of four positive images for a political ad. Write two texts for a voice-over. One text should indicate that the candidate would preserve or advance the things that the images represent; the other should indicate that the candidate would harm the things that the images represent. In other words, one should be positive, and one should be negative. Choose music that will underscore the message in each version of the ad. Have groups present both versions of their ads. Follow up with class discussion.

REVIEW A CAMPAIGN: EVALUATE TECHNIQUES Categorize each ad as a biography ad, a vision ad, a negative ad, or a scare ad. Decide what persuasive technique or techniques—emotional appeals, glittering generalities, “plain folks” appeals—appear in the ad. Explain how you can tell. Describe how the impact of the print ads compares to the impact of TV ads. Pre-AP Challenge: Ask students to expand upon the activity by researching persuasive techniques not mentioned in the Media Study (for example, testimonial, bandwagon, and false cause). Have students apply the techniques to the campaign that they researched, either by identifying any of these techniques that appeared in the campaign or explaining how the campaign might have used each of these techniques.

MAKE THE CASE: ADVERTISING PLAN Divide into small groups and have each group imagine itself as an advertising agency, preparing an advertising plan to present to a candidate. Each group member should write up a part of the plan, detailing ways in which the agency will use visual elements, sound elements, and persuasive techniques to promote the candidate in print ads and TV commercials. Optional: After each group has presented its plan, allow the class to choose the agency that they think will do the best job of getting a candidate elected.