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Television is the primary medium a political candidate uses to promote his or her message. Those messages have a variety of tones: some are "positive" and divulge the candidate's qualifications or position on issues; others are "negative" and point out weaknesses or failures in the opponent. In this exercise, students will view political ads on television and learn how to recognize the target audience, the advertising tactics used, and what, if any, facts on which the ad is based.
- Students will view political commercials and analyze how they persuade the viewer to vote one way or the other
- Students will enhance their media literacy by becoming aware of general advertising tactics.
- Students will share their conclusions about the ad they selected and report whether or not it achieves its objective (to persuade the viewer to vote for the candidate)
Approximately one hour of class time should be devoted to this exercise. Individual time out of class may be between 3-10 hours of television watching time.
1. Over a week's time, ask the students to look for political ads on television. Ask them to choose one that they think would be a good subject for analysis. You might even assign groups of students ads that have different appeals (e.g., reason, emotional) and that use specific persuasive strategies (e.g., figures, comparisons, name-calling, generalities, testimonial, bandwagon, plain folks, fear).
2. Students should consider the following questions as they watch their ads:
Who is the target audience?
- Women, men, young voters, baby boomers, elderly, etc.?
What is the political ad trying to 'sell'?
- Sells a Message? eg. tough/soft on crime, cut/raise taxes, strong/weak defense, clean up the mess in Washington, better health insurance.
- Sells a Candidate? eg. has experience, creates new ideas, tells the truth, tells lies, is a loving family member, etc.)
How does the political ad sell the message?
- Notice production elements: sound effects, music, camera angles and movement, black and white or in color, special effects, graphics
- Name the emotional appeal: fear, anger, mystery, confidence, patriotism, loyalty, trust, distrust, optimism
- Is the ad negative ('the other guy is bad') or positive ('look at how good I am')? Is negative advertising necessarily a bad thing?
What facts are being used in the ads? Who's providing the facts and where did they get them?
1. Is the political advertising effective? Did it get the message across?
2. Could you define the candidates' platforms/positions/ parties from their ads?
3. Have the students present their ad to the class at the end of the week with a detailed analysis of the ad based on the questions above.
4. Students may also summarize their analysis in a paper.
Language Arts Standards
- Informational/explanatory communication
- Critical communication
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