Title: TASK: Campaign Ads
Course: US Election 2020-Leuphana-Copy > Section: 2. The Candidates

[fa-info-circle]  In this task, you will:

- learn more about how the candidates use campaign commercials to make people vote for them,
- research past campaign ads from previous elections to learn about what makes them so effective,
- analyze campaign ads from the current Trump vs. Biden campaign.

1. Preparation (Homework)   [fa-book]   [fa-eye]

Read the article “10 of the Best Successful Presidential Campaign Commercials Ever Made” [1] on the Lowdown blog by KQED and watch the 10 commercials in the article. Based on these examples, what do you think makes a good campaign ad? Take detailed notes.

Select two commercials you find particularly compelling to focus on in more detail – for example, one positiven ad and one negative or 'attack' ad. Watch them again and take notes on why you think they are effective.

2. Learning to analyze ads   [fa-comments-o]   [fa-eye]

In class, share your notes with a partner.

- First, discuss in general what makes a good campaign ad.
- Then, introduce your two selected commercials to your partner and explain why you think they are good examples of effective campaign ads.
- Finally, discuss your findings in class.

In class, agree on two commercials from this list to watch and analyze together. You will watch each commercial four times, each time focusing on another aspect.

Fill out the “Television  Commercial Analysis Chart” [2] during the four viewings, one column for each viewing.

3. Analyzing political ads of the 2020 campaign   [fa-eye]   [fa-comments-o]   [fa-pencil]

Get together with a partner and take a look at political ads from the 2020 campaign. Visit Joe Biden’s [3] and Donald Trump’s [4] YouTube channels and select one for each candidate. Analyze these commercials together using the “Television Commercial Analysis Sheet”.

Then, present your analysis of one commercial to another pair and listen to their analysis of a campaign commercial. Do you agree on their analysis results? Would you add some thoughts of your own? Discuss and add information to the analysis sheet if necessary.

Finally, have a few pairs present their analysis to the whole class and discuss the results critically.

Optional

- Write a TV commercial analysis and post it onto Moodle (e.g., in the Project Journal or the database Learner Texts).
- Collect TV ad analyses for the 2020 presidential race together with your classmates. Use it for further work, even beyond the project.

Resources for this task

1 10 of the best presidential campaign commercials ever made
KQED - The Lowdown| Aug 26, 2016
text video

2 Television Commercial Analysis Chart
adapted from The New York Times, The Learning Network
text

3 Joe Biden's YouTube channel
YouTube
video

4 Donald Trump's YouTube channel
CNN | Aug 5, 2020
video

5 Tracking Every Presidential Candidate’s TV Ad Buys
Fivethirtyeight.com
video