PBS NewsHour Ad Libs 2012

Sepia-toned or black-and-white photos from the past tell a visual story about the candidate.

Watch Gerald Ford’s 1976 montage of sepia-toned photos:

Biographical spots highlight a candidate’s positive career milestones. Presumably, candidates applied the small-town values that helped them accomplish their achievements.

Watch Bill Clinton shake hands with President John Kennedy:

Brevity thrives in advertising. Make your slogan punchy and positive!

Watch the catchy ‘I Like Ike’ ad for Dwight Eisenhower:

Sepia-toned or black-and-white photos from the past can humanize a candidate’s appeal.

Watch Mitt Romney’s 2012 Father’s Day web spot:

Biographical spots highlight a candidate’s good qualities that make them fit for the nation’s highest office.

Watch Bob Dole’s 1996 ad on how he overcame his paralysis:

Biographical spots highlight a candidate’s positive career milestones. Presumably, candidates applied the small-town values they learned to reach their achievements.

Watch Bill Clinton shake hands with President John Kennedy:

Brevity thrives in advertising. Make the slogan punchy and positive!

Watch Jimmy Carter’s vision for America:

A photo doesn’t need to be altered to denote negativity. Sometimes, juxtaposition of two incongruous elements is enough.

Watch a Richard Nixon ad mix images of the Vietnam War with Hubert Humphrey at a convention:

A candidate loses credibility when he or she is seen as ‘flip-flopper.’

Watch a George W. Bush ad using John Kerry’s windsurfing as a flip-flop visual:

Candidates also lose credibility if they look unpresidential.

Watch a George HW Bush ad turn Michael Dukakis’ staged tank ride into a PR nightmare:

Heavily manipulated, black-and-white images can denote negativity.

Watch George Bush use revolving doors as a metaphor in 1988:

Journalists are used as third-party sources to lend credibility to an attack ad’s message.

Only newspapers appear in this George McGovern attack ad:

A candidate’s own words—self-incrimination—is used to attack his or her credibility.

Watch Barack Obama use John McCain’s words against him, three times:

Symbolic imagery can be used to provoke fear about a perceived threat.

Watch a 1984 Ronald Reagan ad use a bear to represent the Soviet threat:

Attack ads also cast doubt on an opponent’s ability to neutralize a threat.

Watch the infamous 1964 Lyndon B. Johnson ad that ends with a mushroom cloud:

Newspapers are used as third-party sources to lend credibility to an attack ad’s message.

Watch newspaper headlines run along the bottom of this 2008 John McCain ad:

Broadcast journalists are also used as third-party sources to lend credibility to an attack ad’s message.

Watch snippets of broadcast reports in this 2011 Rick Perry ad:

A suggestive question is enough to provoke concern about an opponent.

Watch a 1996 Bob Dole ad ask, “Does the truth matter?”: