(2013) McCain also offered no specifics as to how he would secure the border, ease nuclear threats, or restore the economy, just the statement that if elected by 2013 these problems would be solved.
While McClintock's essay stated there were six techniques by which advertisers use propaganda in their advertisements, the Obama campaign did something unexpected; they blended these techniques together. On the other hand, the McCain campaign stuck to using one technique per ad; for example the "Ayers" ad which attempted to only use the "Transfer" technique of associating Barack Obama with what the ad referred to as "domestic terrorist Bill Ayers." (Ayers) the Obama campaign's blending together of techniques meant that for one ad, there were several propaganda techniques used. The "Maverick No More" advertisement, which used "Testimonials" from other politicians such as Joe Biden, John Kerry, Tom Daschle, Hillary Clinton, and Howard Dean, provides an example. However, within these testimonials was hidden the "Name Calling" technique; where all these famous politicians made negative statements about John McCain. This ad then concluded by using the "Transfer" technique to associate John McCain directly with George Bush; in an attempt to get the audience to view John McCain as the same as Bush.
The Obama campaign did more than simply use the six technique Mclintock outlined in her essay, they improvised and adapted these techniques in new and unusual ways to create effective advertisements. The results of the election, a major win for Obama, demonstrated that this was indeed effective.
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