Analyzing the Kerry "Jobs Lost" Ad Using the ELM
This paper applies the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) to John Kerry's February 2004 presidential campaign advertisement titled "Jobs Lost." The analysis examines how the ad employs both central and peripheral routes of persuasion to appeal to working-class and middle-class American voters concerned about job outsourcing and economic security. While the ad uses visual imagery, patriotic symbolism, and authoritative staging as peripheral cues, it lacks sufficient central processing content — such as specific policy examples or personal anecdotes — to produce lasting attitude change. The paper concludes that the ad's over-reliance on surface-level appeals ultimately undermines its persuasive effectiveness.
- Introduction: Kerry's Appeal to Working-Class Voters: Ad targets working-class voters through jobs messaging
- Central and Peripheral Processing in the Ad: ELM framework applied to Kerry's visual and verbal cues
- Policy Messaging and Visual Cues: Policy claims paired with emotional imagery
- Weaknesses in Persuasive Strategy: Ad lacks central processing depth for lasting persuasion
- Conclusion: Surface Appeals and Their Limits: Overreliance on peripheral cues limits the ad's effectiveness
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What makes this paper effective
- Grounds the analysis in a specific, named theoretical framework (the Elaboration Likelihood Model), giving the critique academic structure rather than relying on purely subjective opinion.
- Balances close textual and visual description of the ad with theoretical interpretation, showing how individual moments (Kerry's attire, the flags, the voice-over) map onto ELM categories.
- Maintains a critical stance throughout, acknowledging what the ad does well before explaining why it ultimately falls short — a balanced evaluative approach.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied rhetorical analysis using a communication theory framework. Rather than simply summarizing the ad's content, the author consistently connects observable details (visual staging, verbal claims, symbolic imagery) to theoretical concepts, showing how evidence supports a broader evaluative argument about persuasive effectiveness.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a vivid scene-setting introduction that anchors the reader in the ad's content and identifies the target audience. It then introduces the ELM as the analytical lens, walks through specific ad elements as examples of central and peripheral processing, and builds toward a critique of the ad's overreliance on peripheral cues. The conclusion ties the theoretical critique back to a practical judgment about the ad's political effectiveness.
Introduction: Kerry's Appeal to Working-Class Voters
At the podium, flagrantly flanked by four American flags, John Kerry shakes his fist in apparent anger. "Three million jobs lost!" The scene cuts to a profile of Kerry continuing his statement: "That is an astonishing failure." Within ten seconds, viewers of the John Kerry presidential campaign ad know that the candidate is trying to appeal to blue-collar workers, members of the middle class, and any citizen concerned about the needs of the working class. The Kerry advertisement from February 22, 2004, entitled "Jobs Lost," appeals to the majority of working-class Americans. The ad is specifically geared toward those who care about job security and who fear the repercussions of overseas outsourcing and tax breaks for corporate culture.
Central and Peripheral Processing in the Ad
Amid photo ops of Kerry shaking hands with hardhat-wearing workers, a soothing male voice-over states, "John Kerry's got the strength and experience to fight for America's jobs." Kerry wears a dress shirt and looks quintessentially New England; there is nothing in his appearance to indicate that he really does have the "strength and experience to fight for America's jobs." However, the verbal statements are designed to appeal to the viewer's logical, conscious, rational self and are thus indicative of central processing under the Elaboration Likelihood Model. Likewise, when the director cuts to another shot of Kerry behind a presidential-looking podium, the candidate appears authoritative, knowledgeable, and presidential. The viewer's thought processes suggest: "There is a man who believes in our cause and who has what it takes to lead a nation."
When Kerry states, again behind a row of stars and stripes, "We need to be on the side of America's workers," the viewer is drawn into Kerry's image as a working-class supporter and champion of the middle class. Although Kerry's dress and appearance belie his statements, the ad's central message persuades viewers to believe in his cause. Neither Kerry nor his voice-over defends his personal record, and neither divulges any information about Kerry actually working in a steel factory or processing plant. According to the Elaboration Likelihood Model, which distinguishes between central and peripheral processing routes of persuasion, this ad depends on both modes. Both are equally present in this particular ad, yet both appear equally artificial.
Conclusion: Surface Appeals and Their Limits
Knowing Kerry is the Democratic Party frontrunner is enough to predict that the AFL-CIO will most probably endorse him. Television ads, however, need to rely on more than surface characteristics to persuade voters that Kerry would indeed make a difference and is a better choice than the incumbent. Repeated exposure to the ad only draws attention to its weaknesses: Kerry comes across as a typical wealthy politician pandering to the emotions of middle-class American voters rather than offering substantive, verifiable reasons for their support.
Works Cited
Kerry, John. "Jobs Lost." Advertisement. JohnKerry.com, 22 Feb. 2004.
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