Clash of Campaign Ads: 2016 US Presidential Elections

As a student who takes Economics, and well aware that all IB Economics students, Juniors and Seniors, have been involved in the production of video advertisements of either of the candidates in the 2016 US presidential elections, I decided to introduce to all readers of the Beacon to actual videos from each candidate to present the different techniques and following effects of the commercials. Both candidates, Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump, focused on condemning each other personally.

Hilary Clinton, in the video, highlights Trump’s previous comments toward a particular yet wide demographic of people, women, and tries to widely target the US population. She not only considers the women who have heard such humiliating and nonsensical comments as “slob” and “pig”, but mothers, fathers and potential parents of these people to prevent a candidate who is most likely sexist from being voted for. She succeeds in appealing to the American mothers’ pathos, especially, because they may have been traumatized by such bigotry and discrimination all their lives.

Donald Trump also directly impugns his opponent’s qualifications as a candidate by bringing up when Clinton deemed these voters “deplorable” and non-American. He strategized successfully to keep his voters with him more firmly and lead them to hate Clinton more. Not only that, the advertisement can also make Clinton supporters think again due to her overgeneralization of American voters, although Clinton expressed that she regretted making such comments after the speech.

Although it is very expectable that such campaign ads will escalate hate among people to another level, whether and how such muck-raking videos will let either candidate gain popularity is questionable. Below is the Obama’s 2012 presidential campaign video. President incumbent Obama’s 2012 campaign video briefly states his presidential election rival’s stance, but in order to make a point about his potential policies, most of which he succeeded in continuing. It seems like the most authentic and effective videos come from emphasizing the importance of your own policies and stance toward an issue, rather than others’ scandalous lives or controversial mentions.