Political Ads the Four Phases of Political

Political Ads

The Four Phases of Political Advertising

The four phases of political advertising as described by Edwin Diamond and Stephen Bates can be described thus: first) the candidate introduces himself; second) the candidate's ads state an argument; third) the candidate attacks and belittles his opponent; fourth) the candidate promotes himself as a "visionary…a leader…one who has a vision of moving the country forward" (Module 7). The purposes of the four phase system of political advertising is to 1) showcase the candidate's abilities, 2) question the opponent's, and 3) respond to the opponent's questioning of him. This paper will look at four political ads and show how each represents a phase political advertising and fulfills at least one of the three purposes of a campaign ad.

Barack Obama's Superbowl Ad is an example of the first phase of political advertising. In this ad, Obama introduces himself through a series of maxims: "We can end war." "We can save the environment." "We can change." Obama is pictured in a number of settings in which crowds embrace both him and his message, which is, of course, that "Yes, we can!" The ad states what Americans are tired of: war and division. Obama, therefore, introduces himself as the solution. The purpose of this ad is to showcase the candidate's abilities and question those of the opponent. Obama can change things and unite people. The opponent has only a rhetoric of fear and distrust.

Obama's "Mother" ad is an example of the second phase of political advertising. In it Obama introduces himself by telling us about his mother who died of cancer and spent her last months worrying more about how she was going to pay her bills than about getting better. Thus, Obama argues that health care reform is essential in easing the burdens of Americans, and that to reform health care and make it affordable, Washington itself needs to be reformed -- implying that if he were to be elected he would put an end to the era of lobbyists. The purpose of this ad is to mainly to question the incumbent's ability to reform Washington -- Obama drafts himself as an outsider who is uncorrupted by Washington influences.

Obama's "Original Maverick" ad is an example of the third phase of political advertising: in it Obama attacks presidential hopeful John McCain for voting with Bush to give tax breaks to millionaires while doing nothing to help the millions of middle class families paying too much in taxes. Obama questions whether McCain is a source of change or "just more of the same." The purpose of this ad is to question the abilities of the opponent. By intimating that McCain is simply another Bush, Obama implies that he himself is something new and, therefore, capable of making a difference.