Step Up

               Ron Johnson is the republican candidate running for the Senate seat in Wisconsin.  Even though Johnson is running against Russ Feingold, a powerful democrat that has held the seat for 18 years, he is currently ahead in the polls and looks to steal the seat.  Television advertisements, like “Step Up,” are a major reason for his success because they have been able to connect with Wisconsin citizens while shaping their citizenship at the same time.  In this simple 30 second clip, Johnson is able instill the values of political activism, personal accountability, work ethic, and family life through both dialogue as well as subtle imagery.

            Throughout the advertisement, it is clear that Johnson’s main purpose is to encourage political activism in voters, while stressing his own personal accountability.  The closing lines of the ad show Johnson “getting off his rear end” to act for all Americans, an action that is sure to resonate with voters and get them to question their own amount of political activity.  This clear promotion of political action not only models American citizenship, however it also is a clever campaign strategy.  The simplest form of political action is to vote, so by modeling viewers citizenship, Johnson may also be securing votes on election day.  Johnson also stresses the quality of personal accountability throughout the ad, throwing Washington under the bus.  Images of empty factories and people stressing out over money are included to show the consequences of our government’s lack of personal accountability.  Furthermore, Johnson also seems to be implying throughout the advertisement that it is our responsibility as citizens to elect officials that are accountable—officials with the same ideals that Johnson portrays himself to have.

            Another subtler ideal that the advertisement models to its viewers is the importance of work ethic.  The opening of the commercial shows Johnson actively working in the factory with fellow employees.  His safety goggles and non-formal attire combined with the factory setting that stresses simple, blue-collar values.  This imagery, when juxtaposed to the closed factories shown later in the ad, demonstrates that all citizens need to work hard to keep jobs in America and return our economy to its strength of the past decade.  Even the brightness of the advertisement echoes these same ideals, making the images of forlorn plants a dark sight of the past, while his factory acts as a bright symbol of our future—as long Americans model their citizenship after Johnson’s strong work mentality.

            A final value that Johnson is able to play at in the advertisement is that of family life.  While Johnson is talking to the camera, he sits in a crowded diner filled with families.  This image not only shows that Johnson sees merit in having dinner with family, but it also projects onto the viewer as well.  A diner like the one shown in the advertisement is a familiar sight to those who live in rural Wisconsin, making a great image to shape citizenship of those who do live in small communities.

            Overall, the advertisement is a great success in structuring the citizenship of its viewers.  Not only does it display Johnson in positive light—it also compels viewers to adhere to the values political activism, personal accountability, work ethic, as well as family life by clever use of dialogue as well as symbolic imagery.

--Zach Kadow

Blue Collar Man

   Dale Peterson was a Republican candidate for the Alabama Agriculture Committee. He fully embodies the old school American cowboy republican. The entire ad is a giant collage of images that support this. From the constitution in the background of dog tags and his horse and cowboy hat, the symbolism does not just speak to the audience. It yells his beliefs and morals to his audience.

      

    The first image the viewer sees is the constitution along with the dog tags and marine badge. These strongly convey his roots in the marines and his belief in upholding the constitution. He mentions being a vet and fighting for his country in the Vietnam War. He is very patriotic throughout the commercial and nothing communicates this better then the constitution and the tags. Through this he is saying that he has fought for this country before and he will continue to fight for the constitution and uphold it. He can draw many supporters of this because many people respect a veteran. The fact that he fought for this country and is proud of it can say a lot about his character to a voter. This character continues to the next scene of the ad when he is on his horse.

     

     When Dale enters the scene he is riding his horse with a cowboy hat and big aviators on. The backdrop is a barn and a corral with a farm surrounding him. Immediately he mentions he was a farmer before and knows how to run farms. This seems like an important thing to know when running for the agriculture commissioner of a state but it is also an important message and symbol to sell our campaign on the farm. It easily conveys the message that Dale is a blue collar man who has the ability and the work ethic in order to get the job done. This also represents his patriotism in another way. He mentions that “thugs and criminals” are stealing the jobs in agriculture in Alabama. His attire and setting shows all American symbols, communicating his intentions to stop illegal immigration and help save the family farms.

      

   The final visual I found striking and actually kind of humorous, is when he pulls a rifle out of nowhere. It was just bam here’s a gun. As if this ad couldn’t get any more American we get a second amendment symbol thrown in front of our eyes. The funny thing is this happens to be right after he talked about the illegal immigrants and his opponent, saying he plans to get the job done. Is going to shoot them? It’s a funny question and I think they did a good job in placing this right after he mentions these two things he plans to get done. It really emphasizes his determination to do what it takes.

     

    Dale Peterson used many effective symbols in his political ad. He did not bother to hide these images at all. He basically threw all of his beliefs out to the audience with both his speaking and his imagery. He embodies the old school blue collar working, gun owning farmer who loves his country. -Travis Ormsby

Robin Carnahan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCp9kLbeJH0&feature=related

Robin Carnahan is Missouri’s democratic candidate for the U.S senate, and currently holds the position of Missouri’s secretary of state. She was elected as Secretary of state in 2004 and has been involved in change ever since. From cutting down on fraud, to ensuring fair elections and increasing voting in Missouri with its first statewide voter registration system.  Its clear Carnahan has what’s best for Missourians in mind.

In the ad Carnahan exhibits nationalism but applies it to the local level. She speaks of the struggles families are going through, while Washington stands by and does nothing. She takes pride in her current position as Secretary of state; she has Missourians needs on her mind to influence her decisions, unlike her competitor Roy Blunt who has been in Washington the past 14 years. Carnahan has been living in Missouri and has a sense of what is going on.

The ad has a rural backdrop, which is appropriate being that she is from Rolla. She owns and works on her family’s 900-acre farm, proving to Missourians she is truly one of them, a hard working individual. She demonstrates compassion to the elderly by working to protect their financial security.

In other of Robin Carnahan’s ads she shows herself interacting with seniors, young children, and out and about in some of Missouri’s towns. In this particular ad she chose to focus on her message. She does not need visual aid to communicate with the voters. A simple backdrop is all that was needed. She speaks truth about her past accomplishments, and the misguided interests of her opponent.  The goal of her ad is not to bash Roy Blunt, but to inform the viewers and Missouri voters about what is going on. She makes a point to say “I’ve been here in Missouri…while congressman Blunt, he’s been in Washington for 14 years, raising his own pay, rewarding his special interest friends, and waiting our money. That’s all got to stop.”-Caroline Salozzo

Rod Roberts

Representative Rod Roberts is a Republican from Carroll, Iowa who was attempting to gain the Republican nomination for Iowa’s gubernatorial election in 2010. Unfortunately, he did not receive the Republican nomination; however his ads before the primary election reflected a strong sense of citizenship.

In this particular ad, the scenery seemed to play a large role in the development of a sense of citizenship. The ad begins in a house with people Rod Roberts is close to. It represents closeness and support that we all need to get by. We are all independent beings in America, but we all do need someone to rely on sometimes.

The scenery then moves to two different images with Rod Roberts at places of employment. He was first at the Pella Windows factory in Carroll, Iowa. The second place of employment is Farner-Bocken Company, a distributing company based out of Carroll. These are the two largest employers in Carroll, Iowa. By adding these two sceneries in his commercial, Roberts is creating a sense of work ethic. These people work in a factory or warehouse and work long hours every day. They know what it is to have a work ethic. The next place Roberts is seen is on a farm. Farms are very common in Western Iowa and are very crucial to Iowa’s commerce. This scenery also represents the sense of work ethic. These farmers work long hours every day, especially during the fall and spring, to get crops out and feed Americans everywhere. Any Western Iowan can see this and understand the sense of work ethic this represents.

The last scene is of Rod Roberts reading and playing with his family. These are actually his grand-children. The look of a family reading together and playing together shows strong family values.

In his advertisement, Rod Roberts also created a model for citizenship in his verbal message. He said he wanted to create new jobs and bring new businesses to Iowa. He believes everyone should be trying to stimulate Iowa’s economy which is very important to our economic situation right now. More jobs means more opportunities which is part of what being American is about.

Roberts also said he would like to cut taxes. He said Iowans work hard for their money and should keep more of their paychecks. This goes along with the last point of stimulating the economy. If Iowans are working hard and having more money to spend, they will stimulate the economy.

The last point Rod Roberts made may be his most controversial point. He said he is pro-life and would like to defend traditional marriage. This is what our country was founded on. He is basically saying being a good citizen means following religion and not wanting abortion or gay marriage.

Kelli Riesberg

Agree or die..

This ominous and slightly ridiculous political ad is credited to Personhood USA and is titled “The Pro-life Tea Party Vote.” It is quite obviously pro-life and was created in support of Amendment 62, “The Personhood amendment.” The creators of this ad want America to ban abortion and want us to think we are bad Americans for allowing it for this long.


First of all I have to mention the music in this ad. It sounds like the music one would hear in the trailer for a really intense movie. By using music like this the audience is probably first drawn to it because they think it is a movie trailer and by the time they realize it’s just someone shoving antiabortion ideas down their throat it’s too late s they might as well just watch it.


The use of vocabulary in this ad is clearly to make the viewer feel a certain way. It begins with a quote by Thomas Jefferson, “The care of human life and happiness and not their destruction is the first and only legitimate object of good government.” By placing this quote large on a dark background focuses the eye to it and sets the tone for the ad. They also used terms like “decline of America” and “..you have a chance to stop what we started..” They refer to the supreme court as “men in black robes plotted,” and said they “legislated their corrupt ideas from the bench.” They never use a positive statement in the entire ad.


Finally the use of symbolism drives people to feel a certain way. While the grim reaper is fading to Obama it says “the Angel of Death arrive and Hell followed with him.” They also fade Obama’s face to the Joker from Batman. I don’t even think that needs an explanation... By creating such a dramatic ad they want people to appreciate their message and do what they want. This ad never once says a positive thing about the view of the other side. I think I would appreciate ads much more if they took time to at least mention the other side’s view in an honest way. If their ideas are that much better they should be able to mention the other side and respond to it in a way that proves their idea is better.
-Lauren Oliver 
(video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_Os0cwpCQE&feature=player_embedded )

Changing the "Culture of Washington"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g74r-mfGgYc&feature=related

Robin Carnahan is the Missouri Secretary of State and the Democratic candidate for Senate in Missouri. From the start of this ad, Carnahan presents herself as a humble, hard-working farm girl working to protect the consumer from corporate greed. This ad is mainly directed at the farming and middle class communities of the US and provides a simple, honest model of American life.

Despite its simple composition, this ad creates an effective statement for the American public. Carnahan wears a simple blue blouse with her family’s farm in the background, magnifying her message that she works to protect the average citizens of Missouri. Her unpretentious appearance promotes a feeling of equality between her and the viewer, making it easier for her to relate to her audience.

This leads up to Carnahan’s main message to the public—changing the “culture of Washington”. Carnahan defines this culture as one plagued by lies and corruption. She says that we are being “taken advantage of”. She urges the viewers to take action and encourages reform of this Washington culture. I feel a sense of egalitarianism from Carnahan’s statements against Wall Street and for “us”—in this case, the citizens of Missouri—as it is evident she strives to protect the interests of the majority.

This ad may not employ the negativity and creative wordplay characteristic of most campaign ads I have seen, but its basic structure echoes Carnahan’s projected modesty. She is presented as the ideal, hard-working citizen seeking fairness on both sides of the political spectrum. We have all been victim to Washington’s corruptive “culture” at some point, and she appeals to those who have been hit the most. Her dedication to bettering the lives of Missourians and helping to put an end to consumer exploitation provides a model—not just for her state, but for the US as a whole—of trustworthiness, reliability, and perseverance.

—Nikki Edmiston

One Tough Grandma

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld9nY_8Z5ho
Roxanne Conlin is a Democratic candidate for Senate in Iowa. She is also “one tough grandma.” From the beginning of the ad the viewer is exposed to symbols that build trust towards the candidate. As the ad continues the voters of Iowa are bombarded with facts on how Conlin is a tough fighter who is willing to stand up for anyone, while being put at ease by the cute antics of the grandchildren. It appeals to the voters sense of family, and trust that Conlin will fight for them.

Right from the start voters are hit with a major symbol, grandchildren. Grandchildren are a symbol of family, and togetherness. Having grandchildren is something almost every Mother and Father want to have at one point in their life. Conlin is relating herself to parents and grandparents through the use of her grandchildren. Also, the innocence of the children brings a sense of trust, as people rarely think of children as liars. Roxanne Conlin is representing the American Dream as everyone should strive for a close family.

Using the word grandma appeals to the public as a whole. The word grandma brings up two very different, yet still positive perceptions. One perceptions is the sweet kind grandma that makes spaghetti and meatballs and warm cookies. The other, and the one that Conlin hopes to capatilize on is the old lady who is stubborn and will fight for what she believes in. Although it sounds counterintuitive being stubborn is actually a great thing in the view of the average American. Looking at the commercial Conlin’s grandchildren swear that their grandma will fight for what is right. Conlin is willing to fight for everday people, and will fight for what she believes in which is of course whatever the public believes in. Being a grandma and using it to her advantage is a very smart move by Conlin as people respect and somewhat admire Grandparents. Grandparents are the head of a family, and deserve respect.

The ad’s main point is not how Conlin is a great grandparent. It is that she is a “strong leader who is not afraid to take on tough fights” and that Conlin “represents everyday people who do not have a voice.” Conlin is the role model for all Americans. She is not lazy, she is willing to fight even though she know it will be hard and that she might lose. Also, she stands up for everyone, no matter there status. Conlin is the ideal citizen, fighting for everyone and anyone no matter how hard it is. Conlin is a tough grandma who will represent all Iowan’s in Washington; while always wearing a suit jacket.


Jake Wasserman