The Development of Campaign Ads
This is a 1956 political ad published in the Ventura County Newspaper. This advertisement shows a picture of candidate Adlai Stevenson’s shoe with a hole on the bottom of it. The press captured him with a hole on the bottom of his shoe and instead of him being embarrassed by it, he used it as a form of campaigning. The newspaper ad shows the pins he’s selling which have his shoe with a hole in it. It also says “get in step, wear the pin that Adlai wears” in big bold letters, making it clear that this ad is for Stevenson. In smaller letters, there’s information where to donate to the Stevenson campaign and names of local stores to purchase pins of his shoe. This advertisement pops and catches a person’s attention with its bold writing and large pictures.
Here is an article printed during Vice President Hubert Humphrey's Presidential election campaign in 1968. It claims he is sure to win the Democratic ticket. While articles such as this were not directly related to the campaigns, they still functioned as a form of advertisement for the candidates. This is still a relevant form of advertisement because, while less people read the printed paper, many people still read articles online.
In the 2016 presidential election candidates relied largely on electronic advertisement to spread their messages. Specifically, President Trump used YouTube and Twitter as a way to access the younger generations. These online forms of advertisement are more accessible to voters than earlier forms of advertisement were thanks to mobile devices and apps. Before society's technological advances, articles would have been written and printed in hard copy form, but now articles are more often posted to news organizations' online sites allowing the people to access from anywhere with a phone signal.