Morning in America

This ad was run by Ronald Reagan during his campaign for re-election in 1984. The video has a clear message: our administration works. The US had gone through a time of great prosperity during Reagan’s first term, and the images he shows throughout the video reflect this. We see a family moving into a new house, a stable suburban neighborhood, and a farmer putting in a hard day’s work. Additionally, the narrator not only has a calm and soothing voice, but is focusing on numbers that highlight how strong the economy is doing. He paints a confident picture for the young population by citing low inflation, showed they could look forward to the future.

This stability and prosperity are what made Reagan’s approval ratings so high, and by focusing on them he was using a very simple re-election method: focus on the good. He ultimately won in a landslide, and this ad was a perfect example of why the victory was so easy.

9 responses to “Morning in America”

I wish we were seeing ads like this today! This has a much better tone that the slandering ones we are seeing with Romney and Obama. While I don’t know much about the past presidents, I’m pretty sure Reagan was well-liked and his ad was a perfect mix of humility and pride. I think in modern times, the media makes it too easy for negativity to spread in presidential campaigns. I never know what to believe. It’s truly unfortunate that the media has a controlling interest in politics and I wonder if we will ever see ads like this again.

I don’t know if i totally agree with you assessment. Yes, this ad focuses on the good. I just think the reason he so easily won is because he was clearly better. But I honestly think that was a different time. If an ad like this was put up, the candidate would probably be laughed at. America is at a different point in her life now. We all know that there are a lot of things wrong out there, i would say that there is more wrong than right. Know one wants to see a gushy ad like this, well at least I don’t. But hopefully we can get back to a place like this ad again!!

Jordi October 14, 2012 at 3:20 pm · · Reply →

There are lots of positive ads these days too…

It is crazy to see how much political advertisements have changed. Reagan made the American dream seem obtainable. Today, advertisements are devoted to tarnishing opponents rather than encouraging citizens. Given the current economic situation, I am not quite sure people who have been forced to put their dreams of a picture perfect American lifestyle on hold would be receptive to such an advertisement though. Perhaps we’ll see a return to commercials like this in the future during a more prosperous time.

Interesting historical note. He did win handily. But after the first debate, the challenger Mondale had the momentum with his feisty performance.

Sound familiar? Having said that, I will also say that predicting current politics form past precedent is often a bad idea.

This ad portrays 1980’s America as the place to be! Better yet, how could people like Gordon Gekko have exisited in the world illustrated in the clip? Such a positive ad is evidence of a highly effective campaign staff and masterful use of imagery. The facts are powerful as well but I could see people ignoring them much in the same way they ignore the warnings in drug commericals drowned out by music and pleasant imagery…

Confidence is key here. This ad portrays the values that a healthy America runs by. I think it is nice having an ad show the positives of life in America, as opposed to candidates showing how they can fix the bad. Not to say that there aren’t any positive ads nowadays, but more ads similar to this would be nice.