Persuasive Ad Analysis - 2008 - "Ideas" Attack Ad

After the New Hampshire primary in which Hillary Clinton pulled out a surprise victory, all the attention turned to South Carolina, where the campaign on the democratic side quickly turned nasty.

Looking to put some dirt on Barack Obama, the Clinton campaign released the following negative radio ad, which you can listen to at YouTube.com or read about at the NY Times. For a transcript of this ad (and the Obama response, see here). Although the ad is by no means exceedingly persuasive, there are certainly elements of persuasion at work:

• The announcer speaks in a distinctively southern accent. The Clinton ads that aired in other parts of the country did not use this same announcer.
  
• The ad employs guilt by association, claiming to use using Senator Barack Obama's own words to tie him to Ronald Reagan. The fact that the ad plays a recording of Obama saying "the Republicans were the party of ideas for a pretty long chunk of time there over the last 10, 15 years" is effective (although deceptive).
  
• The ad plays on fears that Senator Obama may be to independent minded and not liberal enough.
• The ad tries to link Senator Obama and "the economic mess we’re in today." This is important given the fact that the economy is a major issue of concern for voters. It should come as no surprise that Clinton did not tie Obama to a more minor issue that would not resonate as strongly with voters.