Advertisement Analysis Essay

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMNZTcGSHLg.

The 2016 presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton had defined issues

and was bit polarizing. According to Pew Research Center surveys in July of 2016, the economy

(84% of voters) and terrorism (80% of voters) were the two issues that American electorate

were most concerned about. According to CNN exit polls, Hillary, the democratic candidate, had

a large demographic of support from African Americans and other minorities. Trump, the

republican candidate, was most popular amongst whites and conservatives. The campaign ads

used by Trump and Hillary, and by presidential candidates in general, are endeavors to

persuade voters about aspects of their campaign’s platform or an attempt to detract and

discredit each other. America Soaring, an ad by the PAC “Rebuilding America Now” endorsing

the Trump Pence presidential ticket, falls into that more neutral self-promoting category of

campaign ads.

Without being exhaustively expository, the ad depicts blue collar workers of various races and

genders at work in various pertinent contexts such as metal factories, construction projects,

workshops etc. It also showcases city skylines, the Queensboro bridge, and various sweeping

shots of New York and the Empire State Building. Most of the ad is in black and white and

switches to color occasionally. Surprisingly, neither Trump nor Hillary are shown in the ad.

The ad attempts to convey the fact that American jobs have been getting exported to other

countries. In particular it mentions factory and trade jobs and states that the audience can
change this. It then goes on to say how it will be American steel and workers that will make this

country great again. The main message of this ad is rather obvious, bring back jobs to America

and rebuild American economic infrastructure.

When taking into consideration the goals and strategies of this ad, one must factor in certain

elements and circumstances surrounding the 2016 presidential election to understand them.

America had been outsourcing jobs overseas for decades in an attempt to factor into a more

global economy. This hasn’t had the desired outcome of economic stability and prosperity

promised by many politicians of the past. The issue of America’s economy is too complex to

completely extrapolate but, needless to say, shipping jobs overseas hasn’t necessarily bolstered

the American middle class, the backbone of the U.S economy. It would then make sense that

the foremost election issue was the economy. Given this background information, it is quite

apparent that this ad is geared toward middle America. The ad’s frequent use of the word

America and the subject matter steel workers and bringing jobs back seems to be an attempt to

appeal one’s sense of patriotism yet tempered (no pun intended) with the pragmatic notion

that America isn’t going to rebuild itself. The partisan and self-promoting nature of this ad and

the fact that it refrains from maligning the opposition lends itself to a positive tone.

The article written by the New York Times entitled “Donald Trump, Man of Steel” extols the

ad for its constructive nature stating, “the ad offers a positive rebuttal to the many negative ads

raining down on Mr. Trump.” In my opinion, the ad achieves what it sets out to do. This being

to reinforce the economic aspect of the Trump’s campaign platform. Considering it is only 1

minute long and presents a clear and concise message of a rather complex issue in that time

frame is rather impressive. The fact that it doesn’t stoop to petty criticism is also a plus.
 Works Cited

Fingerhut, Hannah. “4. Top Voting Issues in 2016 Election.” Pew Research Center for the People
and the Press, 7 July 2016, www.people-press.org/2016/07/07/4-top-voting-issues-in-2016-
election/.
Corasaniti, Nick. “Donald Trump, Man of Steel.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 23
July 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/07/24/us/politics/donald-trump-man-of-steel.html.
“Rebuilding America Now: America Soaring.” YouTube, YouTube, 1 Aug. 2016,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMNZTcGSHLg.
https://www.cnn.com/election/2016/results/exit-polls