Persuasive Ad Analysis: Hillary Clinton "Children"

In a move that appears to be out of the Bush-Cheney playbook, Hillary Clinton recently launched an ad entitled "Children."

The transcript follows (source; view ad here at YouTube.com):

"[Announcer:] It's 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep, But there's a phone in the White House and it's ringing. Something's happening in the world. Your vote will decide who answers that call. Whether it's someone who already knows the world's leaders, knows the military -- someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world. It's 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?
[Clinton:] I'm Hillary Clinton and I approve this message."

Read news coverage on this ad: Washington Post; WSJ; Fox News; Boston Globe;

Why This Ad is Persuasive

• The ad evokes the strongest possible emotional connection--parent and child ("it's 3am and your children are safe")
• The ad plays on Hillary's perception of experience and Obama's inexperience. ("Whether it's someone who already knows the world's leaders, knows the military -- someone tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world")
• The ad changes the subject of the debate from change [where Hillary cannot compete with Obama] to national security.
• The ad makes a direct call action ("Your vote will decide who answers that call.")
  

Why This Ad is Not Persuasive

• How is Hillary "tested and ready to lead?" There are no specifics and the viewer can only wonder whether Hillary beat Bill to the phone during the Clinton administration and picked up the phone instead of President Clinton.
• Hillary voted for the Iraq war--something most democrats believe was not a sign of experience
  

Other Comments

• This ad bears some similarity to Walter Mondale's 1984 ad using the "Red Phone"
• "The most awesome, powerful responsibility in the world lies in the hand that picks up this phone. The idea of an unsure, unsteady, untested hand is something to really think about. This is the issues of our times. On March 20, vote as if the future of the world is at stake. Mondale. This president will know what he's doing, and that's the difference between Gary Hart and Walter Mondale." (source) View ad here [it is about 10 seconds in the video; there is a short introduction from some UK website].
• This ad bears minor similarity to the famous "Daisy" ad (view here).