Campaigning and Advertising

As mentioned earlier advertising is everywhere. Lately there has been a new form of advertising, that being for the elections occurring this Tuesday, November 7^th. In the past I have recalled advertising for these elections as billboards, signs, pins, poster, and commercials. This year however, I have found that advertising for these campaigns made a dramatic turn. It is always typical to slander an opponent, but I have found more than ever that many commercials slander the opponent as a tactic rather than glorifying one’s self. While both forms will essentially influence somebody, it seems like a middle school way of handling the campaign. In my mind it makes the candidate or candidates less reputable. As a voter I want to see what the candidate will offer me, not the down falls or mistakes of another.

Another aspect of campaigning that I found this year was the use of political icons or the use of celebrity to promote specific propositions. An example of this was Bill Clinton’s campaign in support of prop 87. Even on myspace there have been advertisements with Bill Clinton’s face in support 87. While Bill Clinton is not typically considered a celebrity, he is an ex president and a political icon. It is not typical to see much of ex presidents after their terms, and now he is an icon for this particular proposition.

It is amazing how much money is spent on campaigning…hopefully all will go out and take advantage of their right to vote.