The United States has had a long, long history of political advertising with roots that date back to the 1860s. Believe it or not, prior to this era, it was considered inappropriate for politicians to ask people to vote for them.
They did not travel on a campaign trail. They did not spew slander at other candidates from behind a podium. They did not debate in front of massive audiences. Instead, any type of advertising and marketing was left up to the people.
In an attempt to sway the masses for a candidate, groups of canvassers went door to door and sang songs and partisan newspapers printed sensationalized headlines with muddy facts and politically charged cartoons and caricatures of candidates. Photographs of Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln spread across the country by storm in 1860 to give people an idea of who they were voting for. The yard signs that we know and love have origins in our country that date back to 1824 when the John Quincy Adams team convinced townspeople to partake in the now common practice we still see today.
These early tactics continued for over a century and soon enough candidates got involved as well. While door-to-door canvassing is still used, the practice evolved with the invention of the landline telephone. FDR was the first President to use pre-recorded phone messages in an attempt to win voters over. Along with FDR, Presidents began campaigning in person and would make phonograph records that could be played to express their values to voters. Print ads as well, developed into posters, billboards, fliers, brochures, and merchandise such as pins, pennants, and hats were manufactured.
Soon enough in the industrial age, the invention of radio and its emergence as an essential home appliance in the early 20th century proved pivotal for Presidential candidates. Used to announce the 1920 Election results, the 1924 campaign season saw candidates first utilize radio as a marketing tool. Democratic candidate John W. Davis historically struggled with his long on-air speech at the broadcasted DNC that year, blaming radio for making it “impossible or inadvisable”. Republican Candidate Calvin Coolidge’s speeches were broadcasted on a record 26 different stations, and his team was tech-savvy for the time, understanding that the fresh new invention of radio paired best with a fresh new approach: shorter speeches. An important note that set a new precedent in politics: Republicans spent three times as much on radio broadcasting that election, which meant that their messages were heard three to four times more than the Democrats that year, resulting in a landslide victory for Coolidge. The value of efficient marketing was heard with the waves of radio, as it became a crucial media platform to reach the masses in the battle for the Presidency.
However, in 1952, the approach to Presidential campaigning changed forever. For the first time in history, Republican candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower’s campaign ran an advertisement on television. By this time, 40% of Americans had television in their home, leaving no doubt that the famous 62-second animated cartoon “I Like Ike” advertisement (conceived by aide Jacqueline Cochran and Roy O. Disney – Walt’s brother – of The Walt Disney Company) left an impact on voters and the future of political marketing with an Eisenhower victory.
Come 1960, our nation’s notorious negative political advertisements made their debut as Democrat John F. Kennedy’s campaign aired a historical first. They aired a commercial with a clip of then-current President Eisenhower being asked what major ideas his Vice President Richard Nixon (and opposition to Kennedy in the 1960 Election) had contributed to his presidency – to which Eisenhower replied: “If you give me a week, I might think of one”. The video clip, if not heard clearly the first time, was played once again in the ad. This “Attack Ad” along with the first nationally televised debate between Nixon (sweating in the hot lights and cameras on set) and Kennedy (touched up with makeup and looking cool as a cucumber), certainly helped result in a Kennedy victory.
Who could forget Lyndon B. Johnson’s 1964 television ad of the little girl picking daisies? Counting down from 10 – she stares into the sky, the camera zooms in on her eye, and – BOOM – a nuclear bomb goes off. This ad shook Americans to their core, and effectively changed the advertising approach of future campaigns. The vast majority of Presidential campaign ads from this point forward almost never showed the candidate themselves, but instead marketed to voters with the use of symbolism, whether it was showing the devastating effects of an opposing candidate’s political policy, or showing visual representations of their ideal America.
Whether it’s Nixon’s attack ads on Hubert Humphrey in 1968, Gerald Ford’s 1976 “I’m Feeling Good About America”, or Reagan’s 1984 “It’s Morning Again in America”, there has always been a correlation between campaign ad spending and election results. With television reigning king for the 20th century, even in 2024, television advertisements receive the largest amount of campaign spending, and it is expected to grow even more – a 30% increase from 2020 to a whopping $12.32 billion projected this year.
With the emergence and incredible grip digital and social media has had on the world since it was conceived in the mid-late 2000s during the ever-growing digital age, the creation of popular platforms such as Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, and now TikTok, have seen political spending increase as well.
In 2024, digital platforms are expected to spike up 156% from 2020’s numbers, according to Reuters, as campaigns have recognized the power of social media and its ability to capture the voter. Paired with the age of the internet influencer, voters follow “political influencer” accounts and gain political information from popular people, whether the information is biased or not.
Podcasts have such a reach in this digital age, podcasters such Alex Cooper, Theo Von, and podcast teams such as ALL THE SMOKE and Smartless have had Presidents and Presidential candidates alike join them to talk about policy, as well as handing them a platform to get personal with voters. Voters may find this format incredibly humanizing for candidates, seeing them “out of their element” or not behind a podium being faced by traditional forms of press and media. In this sense, candidates can market themselves as more relatable to voters at home.
An important note about the use of social media in campaigning is that in reality, it is not heavily regulated – and it is not unbeknownst to any Presidential campaign team that the average American spends over 4-½ hours a day staring at their phone screen. The screen that they use to call their family, check their bank account, pay their bills, is alas, the same screen they use to get their news and go on social media.
With the game of marketing a presidential candidate changing rapidly over the last century due to technological advances, it has never been caught up in such a rapidly evolving state as it is now. Who knows what the future, whether a month from now, five years from now, or a decade from now, has in store.