Persuasive Ad Analysis - Clinton "Partner"

On March 3, Hillary Clinton launched an economic ad targeting Ohio.

View the ad here at YouTube.con

Below is the transcript of the ad (source).

TITLE: "Partner"

LENGTH: 30 seconds

AIRING: Ohio

SCRIPT: Clinton: "I have talked with people from Cincinnati to Dayton to Parma."

Man 1: "The economy in this part of the state is terrible."

Man 2: "We need a leader who cares about the people."

Clinton: "It's time that the American worker had a partner in the White House."

Woman 1: "She's going to bring jobs back here to Ohio."

Man 3: "And fight for working families here in the United States of America."

Man 1: "Hillary Clinton can turn this country around."

Clinton: "The wealthy and the well-connected have had a president. It's time the middle class had a president, who will stand up for you."

Clinton: "I'm Hillary Clinton and I approved this message."

Why This Ad is Persuasive?

• It is on Topic
• The ad directly addresses Ohio's struggling economy, which was the number one issue in Ohio (see analysis section here). No political ad can be effective, regardless of how well scripted and emotionally appealing, if it does not strike on a point of similarity with viewers.
• It Features Target Voters
• Unlike Hillary's Texas ads, which focused on national security and/or featured Hispanics, this ad features working class white individuals. This was precisely the audience that Hillary disparately needed to reach in order to win. Consider the following screen shots, which show the individuals who spoke in the ad.

• Features "Everyday" People
• The Background Reinforces the Message
• For example, the first "everyday" person says, "the economy in this part of the state is terrible." The background is, not coincidently, cloudy and rainy.

How the Ad Could Have Been More Persuasive

• At the beginning, there is a screen shot of a man in a suit. This is not the target audience and does not fit well with the rest of the individuals featured in the ad.
• Instead of wearing an expensive suit, Hillary should be shown in working class clothing to amplify the point that she understands and relates to the people.
• Hillary's message here does not fit well with the fact that she loaned her campaign $5 million dollars, she will not release her tax returns, and her daughter works at a New York City hedge fund--a far cry from the working class jobs of Ohio.