In this piece, I link to two ads Nixon used -- a jarring "law and order" ad when he was the challenger in 1968, and an incredibly upbeat ad when he was the incumbent in 1972.
I wanted to post them here for the folks who haven't read the piece. (Yeah, you know who you are.)
I wanted to post them here for the folks who haven't read the piece. (Yeah, you know who you are.)
First off, the "law and order" ad from 1968, when Nixon was making the case that things had gotten out of control and therefore a new direction was needed.
Pay attention not just to the message, but also to the imagery and especially the music.
vimeo.com/224660754
Pay attention not just to the message, but also to the imagery and especially the music.
vimeo.com/224660754
Four years later, the incumbent Nixon knew he couldn't wage a "law and order" campaign because -- as I argue in the piece -- that's essentially a call for change.
So he went with this sunny, upbeat ad that might as well have been a Coke commercial:
So he went with this sunny, upbeat ad that might as well have been a Coke commercial:
The contrast between the two ads is pretty striking.
(Thanks to my terrific editors at @madebyhistory -- @KathrynBrownell and @brianros1 -- for suggesting the contrast. I'd completely blocked the second one from memory, for understandable reasons.)
(Thanks to my terrific editors at @madebyhistory -- @KathrynBrownell and @brianros1 -- for suggesting the contrast. I'd completely blocked the second one from memory, for understandable reasons.)
If Trump and his aides were smart (I know, I know), they'd be running a re-election campaign like the second ad.
That route got Nixon re-elected in a landslide, and the exact same approach did the same thing for Reagan in 1984.
That route got Nixon re-elected in a landslide, and the exact same approach did the same thing for Reagan in 1984.
But all they seem to know is the first route, and that -- as I note in the piece -- is not a winning play for a president.
