Consultants point out that the inability of Michael Dukakis to quickly respond to an onslaught of Attack ads by the Bush campaign, in 1988, probably helped cost him the election. President Clinton, on the other hand, is acknowledged as a master of defusing a situation with a quick response to any attack. Like their product-oriented counterparts, the political spots are a sales vehicle. In this case, the spots try to sell a candidate as an effective administrator or representative. If that message is apparent, the candidate had better forget any plans for a monument in front of the State Capitol.
Political ads differ from consumer ads in a number of ways.
We can't coupon, and what you see is what you get. You can't make the product cheaper, or make the package more visually appealing. With a consumer campaign, Sandler points out that most people know about the advertiser. Even with a new product, or a line extension, consumers know about companies like McDonald's, or Coca-Cola, so that a campaign isn't beginning from Ground Zero. You have to answer a lot of questions in a short period of time.