As of this posting, the presidential election is only 27 days away. We are in the home stretch, and both candidates are fired up and going at each other with full force. All those commercials attacking each other can be very powerful, especially to an undecided voter. Also, those commercials cost the candidates a fair bit of money. As your parents drive you around town you may have spotted the candidate’s signs. Have you thought about where the money is coming from for those very expensive commercials and yard signs? Click the above link and read the article to familiarize yourself with some basics about this campaign's finance.
I think you will agree this campaign has some “big bucks” involved. It has been argued candidates can buy elections with enough advertising. Think about songs you have heard on the radio that you did not particularly like at first, but after hearing it enough times you start to like it. The same has been said of campaign commercials-you start believing what the candidates tell you.
I think you will agree this campaign has some “big bucks” involved. It has been argued candidates can buy elections with enough advertising. Think about songs you have heard on the radio that you did not particularly like at first, but after hearing it enough times you start to like it. The same has been said of campaign commercials-you start believing what the candidates tell you.
Here is your assignment in two parts; be sure to post your responses: 1) Do you think campaign television commercials are important in this election and why? 2) Which candidate’s commercial do you think is the most effective and why? For part two you will need to watch some television (you don’t get that very often as a homework assignment!). Remember you need not agree with the candidate, but view the commercial objectively and determine if it was persuasive.
31 comments:
1) well, i do think that the commercials are important because when someone is wacthing 5 commercials about obama and two about mccain they will probably remember the 5 commercials about omama and they could vote for them.
2) the second thing that we had to do is to wacth one of the commercials. i have seen one of the commercials and it was the one of mccain telling how he will have the gas change and go down and how obama will raise the taxs and mccain will lowwer them. i think that that is a good commercial and how they put it together was also good to.
1)I think that the they are important becuase if the viewer of the commercial does not know much about the election, then it will be easy for the canidate to get a vote off of them if the viewer does not know what is true or what is false in the ad. I agree with what 7b maggie wrote about the 5 Obama commercials and the 2 McCain commercials. I think that if the commercials are short, then they are more effective because you don't want the viewer to get bored.
2)I watched some of the commercials on youtube. I think that the McCain commercials are more effective because they are not very long, and if McCain promises something, he usually backs it up, but Obama just promised something and didn't really say anything else. There is one commercial that McCain made that called Obama a celebrity and showed Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. If someone who was for Obama was watching that commercial, I don't think that it would change their mind about voting for Obama. Some of Obama's commercials were really long and had a lot of promises. In one of the commercials that was basicly a reply to McCain's latest commercial, just said that what McCain had said was false and he didn't really give any proof why it was false.
I also think McCain's commercials are more persuasive because of the way they put together, just like
7b maggie said, because they just seem like they weren't put together in a few hours. It looks like they spent some time on it.
1) I think that the commercials are important, because they influence people. People who don't really research much on the candidates, are more prone to judging who they want to vote for by watching commercials and looking at signs. They probably would vote for the candidate who has more publicity.
2) I have seen a lot of democratic commercials. The democrats are like "Obama for Change". Well, what kind of change are they talking about? Like 7aanna said, Obama's commercials are really long and promising. They are too vague. I agree with 7b maggie and 7aanna, in the fact that McCain's commercials have more thought and are more persuasive.
1)i think commercials are important to help you learn about the people running.sometimes commercials are lies. it's confusing to know who's being honest. i think people should read to learn about the people running. i think candidates should use the money to give to charity, instead of commercials.
2) seems hard to decide who to vote for from a commercial. some of the ones on you tube were funny, but not true and not nice.if people from another country saw some of them, they wouldn't like america and would probably go home.
#1: It gives a different form of advertisement. It also gives an opportunity for different people to ask questions directly to them. #2: McCain b/c he puts his money to actually reasonable and important situations.
P.S. HEY MR. M WHAT TIME IS THE THING ON T.V. THAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO WATCH AND WHAT CHANNEL IS IT ON
1. i think that they are important because the people who don't know who to vote for, will get information on the presidents without researching or watching the debates. Because not everyone has time to research or watch debates in my opinion the debates are boring so other people do not want to watch something that they think is boring. so they just watch whatever they think is not boring on t.v. and they will see the commercials.
2. I think Obama's because of what I have seen Obama's have been like being really mean to McCain and about how McCain will do all these things to ruin are country. So if you do not know anything about them then you will think that McCain will ruin our country.
I agree with 7b deborah about the second sentence in 2.
1) i think that commercials do help a lot in the presidential race because if you only see a commercial for McCain and not one for Obama, then you will mostly start to think about how Obama is not ready to lead, how he wants change, etc. If you only see an Obama commercial and not a McCain commercial then you will usually start to think that obama would be better for president. To make an informed choice on who to vote for you really need to see the debates and the commercials and the speeches for both candidates to really know who would do a better job as president so i would say that commercials really do matter, especially near the end of the race.
2)i have seen a commercial from both canditates and the one from Obama just said that McCain can't send an email and doesnt know how to use a computer which would make you think he is kinda dumb but he cant do those things because he was a prisoner of war and was tortured. i also saw a McCain add that talked about how Obama was more interested in becoming a celibrity like Brittney Spears or Paris Hilton than becoming President. it also said that there was nothing there in his campaign except for beoming a celibrity which is pretty much the same thing. i dont think that people will really go for either one of these ads because they really werent that good.
In my first post, in like the last sentence, when I said in McCain's latest commercial..... i meant Obama instead of the firt McCain.
I agree with Sarah about the celebrity commercial. I have seen that commercial too.
i think the commercials are usless because they make som people mad not me just some people in america. but the best one is the McCainn one that says that obama will raise the taxes and take the troops out of iraq.
1. I think that the commercials are important, but also they are costing alot of money. They help you learn more about the canidate. For people who dont know who to vote for can look off of what commercials say, but they could be lieing.
2. I think McCain's commercials are mor effective even though we dont know what he says is true. And if Obama is going to critisize McCain that's noy showing anything effective.
Maggie, great job on making the connection between the number of commercials and what voters are will remember.
Anna, you are correct about Obama’s commercials being long. Sometimes they are 90 seconds in duration and that much TV time is very expensive.
Michelle, excellent comment when you point out many of those commercials are too vague. And it’s not just Obama, that theme of vagueness is common in many political attack ads.
Yea Josh! I love your comment about what other countries must think about our country based on what they see in those commercials. You are so correct in that observation, good job!
Ellie, there is no set time or channel to watch. Simply watch ANY channel and you will see political advertisements from both candidates. If by chance you do not see any, you can always do what 7a Anna did and view the commercials on YouTube or go to the Candidate’s website and watch them that way.
Deborah, your comment about Obama’s ads “being really mean to McCain” has been shared by many political analysts as well as everyday voters. However, is that such a bad thing in such an important election? See my final comments below.
Sarah, I like how you point out benefits from both sides of the commercials, and how the voters really need to be INFORMED, and not just from commercials. Very astute on your part, good job.
Carrie, great comment about the McCain ad attacking Obama’s tax plan, but in your opinion, WHY is that ad so effective?
Mary, thank you for commenting about the money being spent on campaign ads. That was one of the points I wanted your class to take from this blog; that, plus the difference in money raised by each candidate.
McCain’s ads have been less negative, but this has provoked criticism that McCain is not being aggressive enough in this campaign. A sentiment shared after all three of the debates. The fact that he is not being aggressive as Obama has caused many to feel his Presidency will be conducted much the same way. The belief is he is too old and not willing to fight. Is this a fair criticism? Consider that comment for a follow up post.
1. I think commercials are very important in the election because let's say McCain did a commercial on why Obama shouldn’t be president and someone who was voting for Obama saw it and then decided he wouldn’t vote for him cause he doesn’t seem best for the country, Then McCain has just won another person over on his side in time it will add up.
2. I agree with Anna, McCain's commercials are the most convincing. They tell people what they want to hear: Things about Obama and why they shouldn't vote for him and what McCain would do diffrently if he were president. Even though obama does the same thing his just aren't as convincing for some reason when you make about a gazillion promises in a comercial people will trust you less.
1 - Campaign commercials are important because a lot of people watch tv and are aware of the candidates opinions by seeing their commercials.
2 - John McCain's are more effective because they focus more on the good of what he will do instead of focusing on the negative issues of Obama. John McCain's are shorter and more effective because the long commercials of Obama lose the interest of the viewer.
1st part- i dont think it matters about commercials because for most people when they see and election commercial they turn the channel because of all the lies the conidates tell about eachother
2nd part- ill respond later =)
1)i think commercials are important because you can realy see someones character. also i think commericals are important because if you see one alot you rember it. finally, i also think that obsessive tv people might not be into president stuff but the commerical might inspire them to like president stuff and even vote. its like a kid seeing a new toy commerical.
2)i think anna is completely true, i think that commericals should be short they make it were you like it more and it wount bore you to tears or make you grumpy. i also agree with debera Obama is mean to McCain. Whats up with that? im glad McCain doesnt stick to Obamas level it shows that McCain has a good character. i think sara is true when she says Obama just wants to be president to be famous. again i agree with sarah, whats with obama triening to win the crowd over with obama saying he cant do email. ya, its sad but still presidents dont need to know how to do email. see again this points out how much better character McCain has. the only thing he said is what any canadate would say i'll lower taxes and obama wount. man it would be nice for taxes to be lower. also see, thats what we should be worring about something like taxes not email. but then again campaning is mostly talk. the big question is who ever that will be in office will they keep there promises?
1) I think it is half important to show commercials of them running for president or for their opponet. Well doing a commercial is EXPENSIVE for one thing. To me it looks like they are just trying to see who has more commercails ( MORE MONEY ). When they do commercials for their opponet like stuff that is false is like peopl bickering, AND a waste of MONEY. And if you don't want the other person to look like he is the best you have to make a move( do a commercial ).
2) I have seen so many commercials and a lot of wasted seconds in both Obama's and McCain's commercials. Which means a lot of WASTED MONEY, MILLIONS . I saw one not to long ago and it was sponcered by Obama and he was saying he cares for the elderly and the teenagers and kids in school to be able to help them and stuff. It was a persuading commercial, but to me it didn't seem so convensing. All the commercials I have seen none of them seemed so effective. I will keep watching the TV for more commercials that might be effective. And maybe there will be one that MILLIONS OF DOLLARS WERE NOT WASTED SO MUCH!
I think that McCain is more polite than Obama to not do as many commercials like that. It shows he has more self control. If you reallly think about it, you could kind of say that McCain is more mature than Obama. As to the age issue, I think that since he is older, he has more experience, and will therefore be able to relate to the older citizens in our country better.
I agree with Josh about the people from other countries and how they might not like America and leave. I also think that they would think that the citizens of our country are mean to each other and that part of the reason they might leave is because they don't want to be a part of that. I also think that if they know that there are a lot of Christians in our country and it was based on Christian beleifs, they might also not want to be a part of the religion and would not except Christ if there was a misionary that came to their country and tried to evangalize. You don't have to live in the US to see these commercials.
1)commercials are important to see information about the candidate even though somtimes there are un truths, it will still help.
2)i don't know i watch some on youtube they where both good but thry are too similair so i don'tknow whos is.
1) I think that commercials are important but at the same time can be wasting money. I think that they are important because if a candidate shows more commercials than the other candidates than the people voting would want to vote for him more. I think that it could be wasting money because you could be doing something useful with the money such as donating it to charities.
2) I have looked up some commercials on youtube about both McCain and Obama and you know what I think the hardest thing to decide is. Whether they are true or not. Now, there were some good commercials that I saw but how do you know they're true. I think that McCains commercials were more persuasive and more put together. But as I said how do you know they're true.
1)I think that the predential commercials are ok i guees i mean to me they aren't that important but, to adults they say things that adults find very persuasive.
2) I watched some the commercials and people for Obama would find them persuasive because they are like we the people can't afford John McCain. People for McCain they talk about Obama doing things that people wouldn't agree with and how gas would go down????? we will see what happens. Who will thew people vote as are president? And the winner is.............
I do think the commercials are effective because when you hear things you want to believe them. The more you hear the more you believe. I think Obamas commercials are the most effective because there is more of them.
Obama likes to talk alot. He seems to think that his ways are the best. McCain likes to get to the point quick. McCain also thinks his way is best. It is hard to decide which one is more persuasive by watching the commercials only. I think that everyone should research and find more information and not just rely on television. It is not like you can believe everything on TV.
those commercials are useless no one is gong to suddenly change his vote to obama or mccain after seeing that.They mostly just put down the other. I havent seen any commercials that are all that important. they put down each other all the time and never talk about what there ging to do if they presednt.
hi im back
I have seen 1 commercial where Obama said he was going to raise taxes so we can lower gas prices and get more oil from other countries. John in the same commercial he said he was going to do the exact opposite. I think this commercial was kind good because some people want lower gas prices and others lower taxes.
my last comment was 2)v sorry
hey i was wondering mr.mercereau what web site u went to get the 08 election of mr.mercereau and how did u do that. thanks
Yeah Mr.M, I was wondering where you got that too.
yeah i cant find it any where in google and i really want to show my parents about it. well mr.m if u could tell me in class soon where you go to do it then that would be great.
thanks
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