The Unique Role of Campaign Advertising in American Elections

UCLA Political Scientist Lynn Vavreck will speak before the midterm elections. Even in the digital age, campaigns spend a lot of money on television advertising. Why? In this lecture, we’ll review why television advertising is a powerful medium for persuasion. After developing some tools to help us

decode ads, we will watch a few canonical campaign ads — starting with the very first foray into broadcast advertising in 1952 and extending through the 21st Century. There’s no doubt that well-made campaign ads move people emotionally — but do they persuade them? Tune in to find out! 

 

Sponsored by LHC, Phi Beta Kappa national org and UK chapter, Dept of Political Science, Patterson School of Diplomacy, and Gaines Center for the Humanities.

 

Lecture free and open to the public.