Political Advertising

Reeves was also a pioneer in the political advertising realm. In 1952, television was becoming a national connection, and the Republican party was in need of a better campaign than "I Like Ike" in order to win a re-election. Reeves was the forerunner in producing cheap and effective advertisements at the time. Rather than sponsoring entire programs (remember this is before networks took advertising away from the agencies) Reeves would purchase spots. He purchased large audiences for a fraction of the cost (Gold, 1987).

Three USPs were selected for this advertising: Korea, Communism, and Corruption. Reeves had Bates employees go to New York's Radio City Music Hall and ask tourists to read off of cue cards. They chose people that looked like 'everyday Americans' and had them read pre-made question in front of a camera, that Eisenhower would later answer in a studio setting. The questions and answers were mixed, matched, and edited together for the spots. Half-hour specials were also aired with Eisenhower speeches (www.pbs.org).

In 1952, the Republican party with the help of Rosser Reeves launched the age of mass media political advertising (Gold, 1987). Although Reeves was just doing his job, political advertising fell under fire then and is still received with mixed reviews. Political advertising is the only advertising today that has to be prepaid, since political advertising seasons are short lived, and after the election the losing party usually runs out of funds. The agencies found they weren't getting paid. Also, political advertising gives advertising a bad connotation because many of the political ads run today are negative and hurtful to the opposing party and people involved.