One
of the riveting features of the US Presidential election just finished, is the
billions of dollars spent in advertising on behalf of the contending
parties. The little girl who was filmed
in floods of tears, spoke for many in expressing the sentiment that it was all
too much (though she might not have been thinking purely of the cost). On the other hand, it seems clear that it was
effective, in the ‘swing states’ and particularly in the early stages, when
attitudes were being formed. It looks as
if this, together with superior long-term organisation, was key to the
Democratic victory.
Of
course, there is nothing wrong with planning ahead and deploying appropriate
forces for the task in hand, and an incumbent president can do this in a way
that a candidate who emerges from the protracted primary process, cannot. But there is something wrong with the vast
amounts being spent on television material and the careless negativity of its
content.
