1984 Presidential Campaign Commercials
In 1984, Republican incumbent Ronald Reagan was being challenged by Democrat Walter Mondale. That year the Reagan campaign ran a puzzling Bear commercial that referenced the Soviet threat, though some viewers thought it was about gun control or the environment. “Some say the bear is tame, others say it’s vicious and dangerous.”
The website, Living Room Candidate, archives famous political campaign commercials over the past 60 years of the TV era. Explore how political campaign ads have changed over the decades.
Tokyo Nancy Snow 
One of the biggest changes that has been made in the presidential candidate ads is its content. As it’s talked about here, before the ad’s content was rather negative. In my opinion, this was due to the war that was taking place at the time and it was harder to live in those days compared to now days.
Today, the presidential candidate TV ads are positive and optimistic. The Americans now are wanting to hear a positive message rather than a pessimistic input of society, even if it somewhat drifts away from the harsh reality.