Tuesday, July 13, 2004

Presidential Campaign Commercials, 1952-2004

A picture of the home page of Living Room Candidate, a site featuring presidential campaign commercials.

Oh. My. Gawrsh. Not to be overenthusiastic, but presidential campaign commercials from 1952 to 2004 are now online. This is exactly the kind of resource I need to do research about political communication.

It's also a great way for people to understand contemporary debates about negative advertising. Everyone who's read or heard a story about attack ads has heard "the Willie Horton ad" mentioned, right? Critics of the ad say it's an example of Republican race-baiting, as it features a black criminal given weekend passes by then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis. Now, thanks to the American Museum of the Moving Image, you can watch the ad, read the transcript, and judge for yourself.

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