Presidential Campaign Commercials

Television has provided a powerful way for candidates to get the message out about their qualifications, beliefs and policy proposals. An important, and expensive, part of the candidate’s media campaign, television commercials are not always truthful.

Visit Living Room Candidate, a website which has catalogued all the presidential campaign commercials since 1952 and choose two from the 2008 election: one for Barack Obama and the other for John McCain.

Then visit Fact Checker and check the facts. How truthful are the claims in the ads? Write a summary of your findings (including the URL of the commercials) to share with your classmates in the Discussion: Presidential Campaign Commercials. View some commercials chosen by your classmates and respond to their choices.

Journal: The 2008 Election

Complete part five of your journal assignment. What makes an effective campaign commercial? How truthful are candidates in recent elections? Which commercial did you view that was most effective? What did it tell you about the candidate and what did it tell you about voters?