Trump’s Powerful Attack Ad
We are heading into election season! This means there will be a lot of political advertising to look at. Over the next several months I will be reviewing the spots. My focus will be effectiveness: will the ad actually work? Will it sway voters?
I will keep my political views out of the analysis. I have my preferred candidate, of course, but my goal is not to support one candidate or the other. It is simply to consider the spots, evaluate them, and identify learnings that marketers can apply to their own business.
Trump’s Latest Spot
My first spot to evaluate is one from Donald Trump, attacking Joe Biden. The spot is called “In His Own Words” and it features video clips of Joe Biden. You can watch it here. The ad leads off with this statement from Biden, “If you elect me, your taxes are gonna be raised, not cut.” Later it shows Biden promising “Citizenship for 11 million undocumented folks.”
The spot is quite direct. It explains that Biden’s plan will result in higher taxes for middle-class families, small businesses, and seniors, and 11 million illegal immigrants competing for American jobs and getting free healthcare.
The ad ends with the line, “America can’t afford Joe Biden.”
My Assessment
This is a powerful ad.
My colleague Derek Rucker developed a framework for evaluating advertising called ADPLAN. It stands for attention, distinction, positioning, linkage, amplification, and net equity. I like the framework, and we use it in the Kellogg Super Bowl Ad Review (you can see the 2020 results here).
The latest Trump ad scores well. It isn’t flashy, but it attracts attention. The branding is apparent. Most important, the message is very clear – Biden will raise taxes and give citizenship to illegal aliens, and all this will make life more difficult for families. There is no question about what people will remember or amplify. The positioning comes through clearly.
Biden and Harris will need to respond to this type of attack, because if Trump invests heavily in the message voters may pause before supporting a change.
I like this approach of reviewing political ads on their effectiveness. I look forward to more reviews!