Ad Analysis
Margaret A. Kane, University of Maryland
Kerry/Edwards "Cheney/Halliburton"
- Ad Title: “Cheney/Halliburton”
- Ad Sponsor: Kerry/Edwards
- Issue of Focus: Vice-President Cheney's potentially questionable relationship with Halliburton since becoming vice-president.
- Type of Advertisement: Negative Advertisement
- Broadcast locations: 19 Battleground states
- Release Date: September 17, 2004
- Length: 30 seconds
"Cheney/Halliburton" Script
Dick Cheney : I have no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had now for over three years.
Male Announcer : The truth:
As vice president, Dick Cheney received $2 million from Halliburton. Halliburton got billions in no bid contracts in Iraq . Cheney got $2 million. What did we get?
A $200 billion dollar bill for Iraq . Lost jobs. Rising health care costs.
It's time for a new direction.
John Kerry. Stronger at home. Respected in the world.
John Kerry : I'm John Kerry and I approve this message .
Analysis of "Cheney/Halliburton"
Ad Context
Released September 17, 2004, this advertisement represents one of the strongest attack ads from the Kerry/Edwards Campaign. Centered on Vice-President Dick Cheney's financial ties to Halliburton, the release of this ad coincided with a campaign trip to Oregon by the Vice-President. This ad seeks to not only demonstrate the potential personal benefits being reaped by the Bush/Cheney ticket from the War on Iraq, but moreover, to show Cheney (and by extension – President Bush), “misleading” the country. Kerry and Edwards have focused, throughout their campaign ads and stump speeches, upon constructing a reality of the Bush/Cheney ticket as leaders who “mislead.” President Bush and Vice-President Cheney are men who would deceive the country rather than admit mistakes or failure. Halliburton and the War in Iraq serve as just two issues where the country is being “misled.” This ad aims to construct the Kerry/Edwards ticket as the “truth-tellers” – those who will put the needs of the American people ahead of “special interests.”
Cheney Speaks for Himself and is Then Refuted by the Narrator
This advertisement is similar to the strategy used by the Democratic National Committee in its political ads – allow the opposition to speak in their own words and then refute those words with “the truth.” The Kerry/Edwards campaign, through this ad, seeks to show Vice-President Cheney actively concealing the truth from the American people and the campaign uses the controversy regarding Cheney's former company, Halliburton, to do so.
Utilizing a clip from NBC News' Meet the Press , this ad shows Vice-President Cheney emphatically denying his financial stake in Halliburton. Cheney in his own words states that he has had “ no financial interest in Halliburton of any kind and haven't had now for over three years.” The use of Cheney's personal statement to Tim Russert adds a certain level of credibility to the overall argument of the ad. It encourages the viewer to be lulled into a false sense of security in both Cheney and his personal denial of a continued financial stake in Halliburton. Surely, our elected leaders wouldn't lie to us, and certainly not on a respected political talk show. It is in providing this moment that the Kerry/Edwards campaign gains the ability to immediately attack Cheney's words – to show that once again the Bush/Cheney ticket is misleading the country on important issues.
The Kerry/Edwards campaign uses the narrator in this ad to not only refute Cheney's words but also to construct and offer the alternative to the deception – John Kerry. It is the narrator that is making the argument that Cheney is “lying” – not Jon Kerry. The narrator matters and having Kerry's voice attacking Cheney's words would be “uncouth” in political advertising. The candidates must appear to be positive and above the negative ad – thus, the unnamed, unseen, and unknowable narrator is employed.
The narrator makes the argument that Cheney has, in fact, received financial compensation from Halliburton – in the sum of $2 million since he took office as Vice-President. To the average American – this sum would be staggering, not a reflection of having no financial interest in a company. This central tenet of the ad is then expanded to make a larger argument by the narrator – Cheney is not simply concealing his financial interest in Halliburton. Rather, he is also concealing that Halliburton has received $7 billion in no-bid contracts for the re-building of Iraq during the Bush/Cheney administration. From this position, this ad seeks to connect Halliburton and Cheney's deception to the three main issues of the Kerry/Edwards campaign: the cost of the war in Iraq , the loss of American jobs, and the rising cost of healthcare. By seemingly demonstrating the Vice-President's financial connection to Halliburton, this ad seeks to place the relationship between Cheney and Halliburton in a larger context and thus, portray such as a catalyst for the central issues of the 2004 Presidential election.
Meyrowitz (1995, p. 127) writes, “The television camera now lowers politicians to the level of the common citizen and brings them close for our inspection.” Inspection is what the Kerry/Edwards campaign seeks to achieve among viewers/voters with “Cheney Halliburton.” The Kerry/Edwards tickets want viewers to see Cheney as a common citizen – as one of them. What common citizen earns $2 million dollars from a particular company and claims no financial interest in the company? What common citizen claims no interest in his/her former company but then, coincidentally, is the Vice-President in an administration that grants that former company $7 billion in work? These are the types of questions that this ad attempts to generate. The Kerry/Edwards campaign want viewers/voters to use common sense – to see themselves in Cheney's position – and then to make a decision upon the authenticity and sincerity of not only Cheney's words but also of the entire Bush/Cheney ticket.
Kerry/Edwards hope that viewers/voters will see this one moment as indicative of the entirety of the Bush/Cheney administration. Thus, the ad will resonate throughout the campaign season with the American public – a public that does not like to be misled or, dare a viewer make the leap, “lied to.”
What is that Signed Paper?
This advertisement shows a “signed” paper by Vice-President Dick Cheney. This paper is to serve as the “silver bullet” of the ad – this is the paper that shows that the Vice-President has been less than truthful regarding Halliburton and that he has earned $2 million in the past three years. For the viewer, there is a paper that has Vice-President Cheney's “signature.” This paper looks official as it features the words Executive Branch Personnel in its heading. The number “$2 million” is superimposed in two separate sections, once under Cheney's signature (and it is colored a bright blue to draw attention to it) and again next to the words “Halliburton Benefits.”
Yet, what exactly is this paper? It certainly looks official to the average viewer but there is no identification as to what the paper actually is or even if the signature on the page is that of Vice-President Cheney. Is this a tax form? And if so, from which year was this form filed? Is this a personnel file from the White House? Or is this a distortion of a public document? As a viewer we do not know. The construction of truth being offered by the Kerry/Edwards campaign is just that – a construction. Without specificity, it would be difficult for any viewer/voter to know exactly what he/she is viewing. Yet, the use of this “signed form” would seem to be an effective tool as most viewers would not take the time to critically examine the questions that emerge from this scene of the ad.
From the Sinister to the Hopeful: Color and Music
“Cheney Halliburton” is an intriguing ad in its use of color and music. Although most negative ads tend to use black and white to demonstrate such, this ad uses both color and black and white. It would seem that the Kerry/Edwards campaign uses the color version of Cheney's comments to Tim Russert on Meet the Press because changing it to black and white would distort the image in a way that would lack validity. Meet the Press is broadcast worldwide in color and Americans who have seen this interview have seen it in color. The denial of Cheney's financial stake in Halliburton is in “living color.” It is important not to distort the reality of the American experience. This same principle would seem to be used with regard to showing the color version of the Halliburton logo –the color of this logo makes it more real to the viewer in this sense because of television commercials and the Internet. Both are in color and to distort the color of either of these images would be to distort the Kerry/Edwards image as the “truth-tellers” in this ad. The color distortion would be too apparent to the viewer.
However, the ad does use black and white images to convey negativity. This is done in showing the newspaper clip from The Boston Globe , the form “signed by Cheney,” and in the picture of Bush and Cheney walking down a hallway smiling as the visualized text regarding the war in Iraq, jobs lost, and healthcare flash underneath. The use of black and white in these scenes aims to convey the sinister nature of the Bush/Cheney ticket – to show the reality of who these men are and the reality of their actions as our leaders.
Yet, the color returns, brighter and more brilliant than ever as the narrator begins to talk about the change needed in America – that of John Kerry. The images are of Kerry speaking with Americans, both young and old. He is outside, smiling, with the American flag in the background. The continuous uses of both patriotic colors (red, white, and blue) and of the primary colors (red, yellow, and blue) are simple but visually stimulating. The colors are positive and uplifting and this ad aims to move viewers to action by the change made from the bleak nature of the Bush/Cheney ticket (with the use of black and white) to the vibrant nature of the Kerry/Edwards ticket.
Finally, the music of the ad also plays an important role. Nelson and Boynton write, “The time has come to appreciate musical dimensions of politics and political dimensions of music” (1997, p. 124). “Cheney Halliburton” uses music powerfully. The music heard during the advertisement's focus on Cheney's relationship with Halliburton and the subsequent results of that relationship conveys a very ominous, if not threatening, tone. Yet, the moment that the ad shifts to John Kerry as “the change needed,” the music becomes more calm, reflective, and uplifting. The music seeks to change the viewers' attitudes and feelings about the candidates with the background music – this ad aims to have viewers/voters feel uneasy with Bush/Cheney but to feel comfortable and embraced by Kerry/Edwards.
Who's Talking About the Ad
Mary Dalrymple of The Associated Press
"John Kerry's latest personal attack has as much accuracy as a Kitty Kelly novel," said spokesman Steve Schmidt, referring to the expose author who recently released a book on the Bush family. "It's a breathtakingly dishonest attack by John Kerry."
Schmidt said deferred compensation packages have been accepted by other business leaders who move to the private sector, including some in President Clinton's administration, and added that Cheney's been very charitable with that income. (Mary Dalrymple, “Kerry Targets Cheney, Halliburton.” The Associated Pres s, 9/17/04).
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/20/politics/main644376.shtml
Jim VandeHei and Josh White of The Washington Post
“The Kerry campaign raises Halliburton as a metaphor for both the Bush campaign's ties to big corporations and the wasteful and unwise government spending in Iraq , especially in the ongoing reconstruction. Kerry advisers say criticism of Halliburton resonates among many swing voters and energizes the Democratic base at the same time.
Cheney spokesman Anne Womack called the Halliburton ad "character assassination."
(Jim VandeHei and Josh White, “ Kerry Goes on the Attack.” The Washington Post , 9/18/04).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29999-2004Sep17.html
John Edwards on the Campaign Trail – September 18, 2004
“One minute they're with holding $60 million a month while Halliburton is being investigated for fraud and then the next minute, Halliburton's getting paid in full. So far $4.3 billion.”
“These are not the values John and I believe. They are not the American people's values. This government does not belong to George Bush and Dick Cheney's friends at Halliburton—it belongs to you.”
Works Cited
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Meyrowitz, J. (1995). New sense of politics: How television changes the political drama.Research in Political Psychology, 7 , 117-138.
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Nelson, J. S., & Boynton, G. R. (1997). Video rhetorics: Televised advertising in American politics . Chicago : University of Illinois Press.
(October 11, 2004)
© Copyright 2004, The Center for Political Communication and Civic Leadership.