Ad Analysis
Art Herbig & Ric Winston, University of Maryland
Kerry/Edwards "Your Hands"
- Ad Title: “Your Hands”
- Ad Sponsor: Kerry/Edwards
- Issue of Focus: Iraq, jobs, health care, the deficit, and Mideast oil
- Type of Advertisement: Negative Advertisement
- Broadcast locations: National cable and battleground states
- Release Date: October 28, 2004
- Length: 30 seconds
"Your Hands" Script
JOHN KERRY: "Soon the campaign will end, and the election will be in your hands. If you believe we need a fresh start in Iraq. If you believe we can create and keep jobs here in America . If you believe we need to get health care costs under control. If you believe in the promise of stem cell research. If you believe our deficits are too high and we're too dependent on Mideast oil, then I hope you'll join me, and together, we'll change America . I'm John Kerry and I approve this message."
Analysis of "Your Hands"
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
The messages of this ad walk a very interesting fine line. This is an issue ad with the theme of change. An Associate Press article claims that,“It appears positive in part because it does not mention President Bush.” The important word in this statement is appears . Kerry is attacking Bush's positions on key campaign issues by creating an ad that stresses the positive aspects of change. The insinuation in Kerry's statements is that voters should believe as he does.
The insinuations in these statements are carefully sculpted through how he phrases his claims. Crafting sentences with words like “fresh start,” “keep jobs here,” “the promise,” and “too dependant” play on traditional American values. These phrases call to mind political slogans like “The New Beginning,” “Buy American,” and “Promise of a New Day.” Playing of the political ideals of independence and renewal, Kerry has tried to construct a message where the issues that have built his campaign resonate with American voters.
Visual & Aural Effects
This is an ad driven by its music. The music molds the editing and transitions of the visuals, as well as giving the ad a motivational feel. The message is “together we will change America ” and it is emphasized by the quickening drum beat, a signature of American rock and roll. The drums emphasize the flashing images that accompany Kerry's points and move the audience and the message.
The ad begins with an image of John Kerry set in front of an American flag in an office that slightly resembles the oval office. His look is presidential. He is wearing a blue suit with a red tie and an American flag pin on his lapel. While delivering the words “ soon the campaign will end, and the election will be in your hands,” his look and demeanour affirm that he could be the president.
From the image of Kerry, the music builds and leads the audience to still images of a soldier standing amidst some rubble far from the others that were with him. Kerry's words, “If you believe we need a fresh start in Iraq ” are written across the screen. These parts of the ad reinforce the message of a need for change. The soldier stands with his head down separated from the others that will help him complete his mission. That message is buttressed by the the drums accompanying the transitional editing of the image to focus on the different people within the photo. He needs support and leadership.
The deconstructing of the image leads to Kerry's second point that he can keep jobs in America . The types of jobs that would be lost are working class, blue-collar jobs. That is the type of job represented by the man in the image. His job would be the type that could be lost.
The third image is immediately accompanied by the drums and a transition to health care. The issues of health care cost and stem cell research are filtered through a blue lens. The first is of a female doctor, reaching out the female voters, and a siringe, which bridges the issue of flu vaccinations.
Finally Kerry states, “If you believe our deficits are too high and we're too dependent on Mideast oil, then I hope you'll join me, and together, we'll change America .” Against the backdrop of money and oil derecks Kerry ties the ad back to the financial impacts and motivations for war, bringing the ad full circle.
The ad finishes with three different video moments of Kerry connecting with Americans. The stress is on the fact that “together” we can create change. The ad unifies the issues around a need and the ability to create change.
Who's Talking About the Ad
The Associate Press, New York Post, October 28, 2004, Kerry Highlights Domestic Issues in Ad:
The ad is more about image than substance. It appears positive in part because it does not mention President Bush . That is in contrast to the harsh criticism Kerry routinely directs at the president in campaign speeches. Instead of assailing Bush directly at the risk of alienating swing voters, the ad stakes out domestic issues the Kerry campaign believes will pull support from the president and shore up the Democrat's base of support.
Nick Anderson,The Los Angeles Times, November 2, 2004, THE RACE FOR THE WHITE HOUSE; Silence of the Wolves, and Their Ilk, in Swing States; A record-setting barrage of political ads that hit a feverish pitch in the final week is all over:
"The Kerry approach," Tracey said, "I have now figured out: It is the Tip O'Neill, all-politics-is-local approach." O'Neill, a Democratic speaker of the House in the 1970s and '80s, used that dictum to help his party maintain power for many years.
http://www.latimes.com/news/yahoo/la-na-ads2nov02,1,2474245.story
Howard Kurtz, The Washington Post, October 29, 2004, A Final Volley Of Commercials; Kerry on Stem Cells:
The Kerry spot, which uses uplifting music and ends with the senator reaching into a crowd, has him saying: "If you believe we need a fresh start in Iraq . If you believe we can create and keep jobs here in America . If you believe we need to get health care costs under control. If you believe in the promise of stem cell research." After mentioning budget deficits and dependence on Mideast oil, Kerry asks voters to join him "and together we'll change America."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7424-2004Oct28.html
Lisa Getter, Los Angeles Times, November 7, 2004, The Nation; Election Spending Put Millions in the Pockets of Private Firms; With an estimated total of $1.5 billion going into the costliest presidential election, media groups and political operatives reap financial benefits:
Integral Resources Inc., a Boston-area telemarketing firm begun by one of Sen. John F. Kerry's former aides, got $1.8 million from the Kerry campaign. The Thunder Road Group, a Washington media firm founded by Kerry's onetime campaign manager, Jim Jordan, was paid $4.1 million from the largest of the independent liberal groups opposing Bush. Experts say that when the last dollar is counted, the cost of this year's race for the White House may exceed $1.5 billion.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-spend7nov07,1,1413455.story
(November 11, 2004)
© Copyright 2004, The Center for Political Communication and Civic Leadership.