Political advertising is a tool that's been around for centuries. This tool is the most effective way politicians send their messages to their audience. Obviously this shouldn't be a full paper listing out all of the candidates policies, more of a slogan or catch-phrase to persuade the audience. This is because it is very easy to be emotionally invested to a simple poster/ad, then a paper listing policies. This is dangerous because when involving peoples emotions you can manipulating an entire country and that was shown in last election.
An example I have for this is Donald Trump's Make America Great Again slogan. The way Trump advertised this slogan to America is incredible. The other day I walked to the grocery and saw a guy wearing a red hat and automatically thought he's a Trump supporter. Trump did pollical advertising the way it was intended. He gave a simple red hat so much emotional investment that people started wearing it with pride. Another example I have for this is the slogan used for when America needed recruits for the first World War, they used patriarchy to send the message that you should be willing to die for your country and used the popular phrase "I Want You For the U.S. Army."
These examples showcase that political advertising is a very dangerous powerful tool that can send a very moving message for the wrong reasons and result in harm. In Trumps case, when he stated he wants to make America great again, what did he mean? Did he mean a time before America was diverse, when it was dominated by whites? He was never specific about this topic, he just wanted to make it great again. In the Recruitment banner, we see Uncle Sam conveying that America should be nationalistic and when the country calls you, you have a moral responsibility to be summoned.
This post is so insightful about political advertising! And the graphics completely support your post! You made me think about the MAGA hats in a new way and realize that Trump's most effective branding may be the color rather than the statement. (But it is probably the two in combination.)
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