Oct. 3, 2016 – To understand the punch, power, and pure emotion behind political ads, visit I Approve This Message: Decoding Political Ads, a nonpartisan, nonpolitical exhibition currently open at the Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) through Election Day. It showcases presidential campaign ads from 1952 to 2012 and the powerful emotions evoked.

2016 presidential campaign
According to a recent Monmouth University poll,* more than two-thirds of voters who responded believe the presidential campaign has brought out the worst in people and most voters do not approve of the harsh rhetoric.

Political scientists, politicians, and pollsters will be studying the 2016 campaign for years, no matter the outcome. The apple cart is so upset, it’s crashed and burned. Comity and civility at water coolers from days gone by have been replaced by slings and arrows darting through clouds. Apolitical heads are spinning faster, if that’s possible, than political heads crafting the spin.

But there is one campaign constant that has not changed since 1952 when candidates first gained access to millions of voters at the same time through the new media of the day – political advertising on television.

More than sixty years and a new century later, the political ad remains important to campaigns. Media agencies creating and producing the ads, sometimes in a matter of hours or days to react in real time to events on the campaign trail, are in the final stretch of a wild roller coaster ride with the 2016 campaign. Nobody knows what is around the next curve but the curve will certainly be lined with ads.

I Approve This Message: Decoding Political Ads
To delve into how these ads are designed to appeal to voters’ hearts and heads to ultimately sway their vote, I Approve This Message: Decoding Political Ads is a loud, engaging exhibition by design in order to tell that subliminal story.

At first glance, an esteemed art museum, often noted as one of the best art museums in the nation, may seem to be an odd venue for an exhibit on political ads. People from around the world visit the museum to study famous paintings hundreds of years old, sometimes sitting for hours in front of a painting to decipher the artist’s intent and message. Therein lies the connection.

Being visually literate enables one to look at any visual cue, whether a Picasso or a political ad, with a sharp eye for nuances many layers deep that elicit a range of emotions.

“This immersive exhibition is focused on how presidential ads are meant to make you feel,” Adam Levine, co-curator of the exhibition and the museum’s assistance director, said in a press release. “The goal is to increase awareness of the mechanisms campaigns utilize to capture your vote by pulling on the heartstrings. In the process, visitors will become more critical consumers of political advertising.”

Student News Net toured the exhibition on Sept. 22, 2016 with Adam and Harriett Levin Balkind, exhibit co-curator and founder of HonestAds, a New York City based nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to bring people into-the-know about political advertising.

Adam Levine, left, and Harriett Levin Balkind, co-curators, discuss I Approve This Message: Decoding Political Ads at the Toledo Museum of Art. (Photo: TMA)

Harriett gets right to the point. While companies selling products to consumers must create ads that are truthful and are liable if not, politicians are not held to that same standard and can get away with telling lies in ads. Fact checkers are everywhere in the political environment today. But the power of one political ad, whether true or false, to influence voters in mere seconds cannot be underestimated.

HonestAds exists to decrease deception, increase critical thinking and expand civility; thereby, motivating more people to vote, according to a museum press release. The organization has no connection to political parties, candidates, PACs, super PACs or their sponsors.

“I Approve This Message aims to draw back the curtain of presidential political advertising over the last 60 years to showcase and deconstruct those with the most persuasive emotional messages. Presidential campaigns hire some of the savviest media minds around to develop their ads, and this exhibition represents the best of the best,” Harriett said in a museum press release.

Exhibition organized into four theaters – hope, pride, fear and anger
The exhibition is organized in four theaters corresponding not to campaign issues but to four emotions political ads emote – hope, pride, fear, and anger.

About 50 iconic political ads used in previous campaigns from 1952 to 2012 are shown in the four theaters. Among the classic ads showcased is the 1964 “Daisy Girl” ad by President Lyndon B. Johnson when he was running for his first full term after becoming president upon the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy. The ad begins with a young girl pulling petals from a flower and ends with nuclear Word of the Day annihilation, an ad that without question emotes raw fear, a powerful emotion to influence voters. The ad evoked such fear and opposition it was only shown once.

    TMA: The 1964 “Peace Little Girl (Daisy)” ad for Lyndon Johnson’s campaign aired only one time due to vehement protests by opponents. The subsequent broadcast news coverage of the controversy was a harbinger of the free press that comes with “going viral.” (Photo: TMA)

Interactive and immersive, the 7,000-square-foot exhibition allows visitors to “get it” even if they only have 30 minutes to tour it. But visitors can easily spend two hours or more reading, listening, watching, and even writing on chalkboards for a transformative learning experience, Adam said to Student News Net during the tour.

    Visitors have numerous opportunities to write their thoughts on chalkboards throughout the exhibit. On Sept. 22, 2016, this chalkboard expressed a visitor’s message through art and concise text. (Photo: Student News Net)

The perimeter walls of the gallery incorporate diagrams that visually analyze ads viewed in the theaters. An informative timeline along one wall intelligently puts political campaigns and ads in historical context. Every four years, it may seem as if American politics is the center of the universe but other important events do occur during these campaigns. The timeline is a gentle reminder.

One of the most powerful experiences is the “Mood Room” located in the center of the exhibition. Visitors can sit or stand to experience a fast-paced, multimedia presentation that reinforces the message of I Approve This Message. Images and sound stir emotion; it’s that simple yet so complicated.

“Although the exhibition demonstrates the emotional power of political advertising, at its core it is about seeing, hearing and feeling, and how we digest and process information emotionally before cognition and memory kicks in,” Brian Kennedy, director of the Toledo Museum of Art, said in a press release. “This concept is as applicable to visual art as it is to advertising, which is why TMA, as a leader in engaging its visitors through visual literacy, was so invested in developing this exhibition.”

Visitors who experience the exhibition will look at political ads with fresh eyes and minds. Maybe, just maybe, civility can return to water coolers or at least, to campaign conversations over lattes at cafes! As for the slings and arrows in the cloud, well, that’s a tall order. Contact HonestAds for help!

For more information on the exhibition, visit TMA.

*Monmouth University Poll

List of ads in the exhibition organized by emotion

FEAR
1964 – Peace Little Girl (Daisy) for President Johnson campaign
1964 – We Will Bury You for Barry Goldwater campaign
1964 – Merely Another Weapon for President Johnson campaign
1968 – The First Civil Right for Nixon campaign
1968 – Crime for Nixon campaign
1984 – Teach Your Children for Mondale campaign
1984 – The Bear for President Reagan campaign
1984 – Roller Coaster for Mondale campaign
1988 – Revolving Door for George H.W. Bush campaign
1992 – Healthcare for President Bush campaign
1996 – Assault Weapons for President Clinton campaign
2008 – Special for McCain campaign

ANGER
Under anger there are sub-categories of outrage, disgust, and contempt:
Outrage
1980 – Reagan – Nancy Reagan
1992 – Clinton – Bill Clinton for President
2004 – Swiftboat – Any Questions
2004 – Kerry – Rhonda Nix
2012 – Romney – Revenge or Love of Country

Disgust
1964 – Medicare for Johnson campaign
1988 – The Harbor for Bush campaign
2008 – Punishment for McCain campaign
2008 – Savagery for Obama campaign
2012 – Apology Tour for Romney campaign
2012 – Firms for Obama campaign

Contempt
1960 – Experience for Kennedy campaign
1968 – Laughter for Humphrey campaign
1968 – McGovern Defense for Nixon campaign
1980 – Streetgov
2000 – Really MD for George W. Bush campaign
2004 – Windsurfing for George W. Bush campaign
2012 – Big Bird for Obama campaign

PRIDE
1968 – Reach Out for Nixon campaign
1976 – Peace for Ford campaign
1984 – Prouder, Better, Stronger (Morning in America) for Reagan campaign
1992 – We Can Do It for Clinton campaign
1996 – Surgeon for President Clinton campaign
2004 – Victory for President George W. Bush campaign
2004 – Whatever It Takes for President George W. Bush campaign
2012 – The Moment for Romney campaign

HOPE
1952 – I Like Ike for Eisenhower campaign
1952 – Man from Abilene for Eisenhower campaign
1960 – Jingle for Kennedy campaign
1972 – Nixon Now for President Nixon campaign
1976 – Carter Bio
1984 – Train for President Reagan campaign
1988 – America for George H.W. Bush campaign
1992 – Journey (Man from Hope) for Clinton campaign
2012 – Challenges for President Obama campaign

Find as many of the above ads as you can on YouTube. Watch the ad once and then again taking notes the second time. How does the ad convey the emotion? What symbols are in the ad?