Visual impact

If you haven't gotten brain lock by now from the daily bombardment of numbers and statistics being thrown at us by both political campaigns, consider yourself fortunate.

Sometimes the most effective advertisements are the ones that carry few facts or words, but instead appeal to the viewer's visual senses to deliver a message. The old saying about a picture being worth a thousand words certainly comes through in a new "dinner table" video currently being aired.

The advertisement effectively conveys the hardship of an American family obviously burdened under the economic policies of the Obama administration over the past four years. The mood in the dimly-lit room is depressing as each member in the family of four appears to search in silence for a glimmer of hope in their future.

As the father picks at his food, the burden to provide for the family is seen in his eyes. The pleading stares of the two children are especially heart-wrenching.

The end of the 30-second spot is captioned by a brief message: "12.1 million Americans unemployed, it's time to try something different."

The ad looks to score Republican points against the failed economic policies of the Obama administration over the last four years.

"By discerning clear differences between candidates, voters may be more likely to strongly like one candidate while strongly disliking the other," according to a study conducted by Gina Garramone on the effects of political advertising on the political process.

Political advertisements which relied on strong visuals to carry the message have dramatically impacted elections in the past. President Lyndon B. Johnson's 1964 landslide victory over Barry Goldwater was marked by some aggressive advertising.

The most famous of that campaign, and one of the most controversial of all time, is simply known as "The Daisy Girl." It shows a small girl picking the petals off a daisy. After the girl finishes counting her pedals, a background voice takes over with his own countdown to a nuclear explosion which then lights up the whole screen.

There is an appeal at the end of the minute-long ad to vote for Johnson, "because the stakes are too high for you to stay home." The underlining theme was to make sure persons used their vote to protect the next generation.

It's amazing that even though "Daisy Girl" aired just once before the 1964 election, the film obviously impacted some voters. Johnson ended up capturing 44 out of the 50 states.

Now, 48 years later, Americans for Prosperity, sponsors of the stark 30-second video that hammers Obama without saying a word, is hoping its ad has the same affect on another generation of voters.

By Jim Zbick

jzbick@tnonline.com