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2016 Presidential Advertising Focused On Character Attacks

November 16, 2016 College of Arts and Humanities | Communication

2016 Presidential Advertising Focused On Character Attacks

"No winners in this ad race."

By Shawn Parry-Giles, Lauren Hunter, Morgan Hess and Prashanth Bhat | The Conversation

"The general election ads from the 2016 presidential campaign represented a referendum on each candidate’s character. And in this ad race, there were no winners.

"Both the Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump campaigns featured the takeaway message that their opponent is not fit to lead. Even though Trump won the election, he will face significant obstacles in reestablishing the credibility he needs to lead a very divided electorate. Fear and anger were the key emotions of TV ads from both campaigns and two Super PACS. Trump must now find a way to mitigate national anxieties in the wake of a polarizing election."

Read the complete article at The Conversation.

Image: Advertisements Screenshots/Hillary for America and Donald J. Trump for President via The Conversation.