Ad Analysis: Week 1
The ads featured in Ms. Young’s NSL class vary greatly; moreover, the ads are very telling of the candidates themselves, both in character and policy.
One cannot look at Mrs. Young’s ad board without noticing Azraf Khan’s three large sheets of paper posted in the top corner of the board. The sheets read, with one word per sheet, “YES WE KHAN.” A single sheet is included at the bottom of the ad that dictates “AZRAF KHAN FOR PRESIDENT.” All four of the sheets vary in color, depicting the general color scheme of the American flag: some red on blue and some white on red. These colors are common among most other campaign posters, but the shear size of Khan’s ad is overbearing when compared to his opponents’ ads. This establishes Khan’s message as bold, striking, and somewhat different from those surrounding it. The ad also presents a stress on harmony: Khan places red on blue to perhaps bring the two colors closer, mirroring his motive to close the partisan divide.
By structuring the text around a picture of herself, the Herscowitz campaign presents a more personable ad. The ad also features Herscowitz’s slogan “Obstacles to Opportunities,” in addition to a modified American flag shaped as the letter E. Among Period Eight’s candidates, Herscowitz’s ad is one of the only ones on the board that features her own face. This could mean that Herscowitz plans on using face to face interactions or commercials in the coming weeks as they become available, in an effort to make herself truly familiar to the electorate.
While Herscowitz and Khan paid enough to get medium and small board spaces, respectively, the Gersch campaign far outbid their opponents to obtain the largest available ad space. Gersch’s ad space, from a bid that was thousands of dollars more than that of Herscowitz and Khan, could prove strategic as the campaign progresses. Early on in the campaign, this large exposure to the electorate could garner him a larger mass of voters, being the literal focal point of the ad board.