Even as the media landscape undergoes rapid changes, there’s still no more tried-and-true tactic than broadcast advertising. Television ads remained campaigns’ biggest expense in 2024, and the thousands of spots that aired from Atlanta to Alaska met their typical range of success: Many were forgettable, some backfired and a select handful proved decisive.
As we exit the 2024 cycle, it’s worth reflecting on some of the ads that best explain how we ended up with the people headed to Washington in January. We’ve selected nine spots that showcase the best examples of both parties’ messaging from this year’s battles for the presidency, Senate and House — and assess what future campaigns can learn from them.
President“Prices” — Trump for PresidentPresident Joe Biden’s July withdrawal from the race upended years of Republican attacks on his economic record, throwing the effectiveness of the GOP’s “Bidenflation” branding into doubt. Polls taken shortly after Vice President Kamala Harris secured the Democratic nomination found that many voters were willing to give her the benefit of the doubt on inflation, instead reserving their ire for her
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