"With nationally televised events such as the Superbowl and Oscars, commercials have begun to take on political agendas in their advertising more than usual. Some of these ads are outright anti-Trump administration, whereas others leave more room for interpretation."-Ella Zalon
With nationally televised events such as the Superbowl and Oscars, commercials have begun to take on political agendas in their advertising more than usual. Some of these ads are outright anti-Trump administration, whereas others leave more room for interpretation. These ads are becoming so ubiquitous that Saturday Night Live has recently taken a stab at the matter:
What follows is a breakdown of some of these ads, their companies’ political affiliations and contributions, their customer demographics, and the implications.
Company: Cadillac
Ad Title: Carry
Ad premise: Ad begins, “We are a nation divided.” Shots of historic protests are then are shown, beginning in black and white and ending in full-color modern day. Signs begin to read things like, “Love not Hate.’ The narrator continues, “this is what they don’t show us.” The first clip in this section shows a young black man hugging a police officer. “We carry each other forward; no matter who we are, what we believe, or where we come from.” Included is old film of implied immigrants looking at the New York skyline. “While we are not the same, we can be one. And all it takes is the willingness to dare.” Then, the slogan at the end reads, Dare Greatly. This description did not include every clip shown in the ad. Watch it above for a full picture.
Who owns the company and what are their political affiliations? General Motors is the owner of the Cadillac franchise. They donate to both partisans, however, they have given more money to the Republican party than to the Democratic party. This does seem to reflect some of the noncommittal sentiments in the ad. They appear to be making a statement, while really staying pretty moderate. It’s progressive in showing these protests and saying we can work together as one, but is moderate and even conservative leaning in saying “this is what they don’t show us” and following that statement with a clip of a black man hugging police officers. This implies that the media’s coverage of police brutality towards black people is inflated or untrue, and trivializes the countless murders of innocent black people by the police.
Who is the consumer demographic? Of the top four luxury car brands, Cadillac consumers are the oldest at an average of 59 years old. Starting at $34,705, even the most basic Cadillac model is roughly half of the average American joint-household income ($73,298).
What political issues are referenced? Because they use so many short clips, they are able to quickly reference a variety of issues without diving in too deep. None of the issues are actually addressed, merely cheaply referenced.
Does the ad deliver a plan, promise, or to take a certain action relating to the social issue? No plan or promise is delivered.
Because the ad is vague and does not fully tackle any one issue, it doesn’t feel like there’s much of an agenda and it is pretty moderate. How effective was it? Well, I was watching it with an older family friend in her 50’s next to me. When “Cadillac, Dare Greatly” read at the end, my gut reaction was “come on now.” The family friend said “Oh, that was a nice commercial.” I know she identifies as liberal, so it seems like this ad is effective in being noncommittal enough to appeal bipartisan. In that sense, it seems like the Cadillac company did appeal effectively to their target audience, which is older people. Most young people I know who also saw the ad were unaffected or saw it as a cheap shot.
Ad Title: Carry
Ad premise: Ad begins, “We are a nation divided.” Shots of historic protests are then are shown, beginning in black and white and ending in full-color modern day. Signs begin to read things like, “Love not Hate.’ The narrator continues, “this is what they don’t show us.” The first clip in this section shows a young black man hugging a police officer. “We carry each other forward; no matter who we are, what we believe, or where we come from.” Included is old film of implied immigrants looking at the New York skyline. “While we are not the same, we can be one. And all it takes is the willingness to dare.” Then, the slogan at the end reads, Dare Greatly. This description did not include every clip shown in the ad. Watch it above for a full picture.
Who owns the company and what are their political affiliations? General Motors is the owner of the Cadillac franchise. They donate to both partisans, however, they have given more money to the Republican party than to the Democratic party. This does seem to reflect some of the noncommittal sentiments in the ad. They appear to be making a statement, while really staying pretty moderate. It’s progressive in showing these protests and saying we can work together as one, but is moderate and even conservative leaning in saying “this is what they don’t show us” and following that statement with a clip of a black man hugging police officers. This implies that the media’s coverage of police brutality towards black people is inflated or untrue, and trivializes the countless murders of innocent black people by the police.
Who is the consumer demographic? Of the top four luxury car brands, Cadillac consumers are the oldest at an average of 59 years old. Starting at $34,705, even the most basic Cadillac model is roughly half of the average American joint-household income ($73,298).
What political issues are referenced? Because they use so many short clips, they are able to quickly reference a variety of issues without diving in too deep. None of the issues are actually addressed, merely cheaply referenced.
Does the ad deliver a plan, promise, or to take a certain action relating to the social issue? No plan or promise is delivered.
Because the ad is vague and does not fully tackle any one issue, it doesn’t feel like there’s much of an agenda and it is pretty moderate. How effective was it? Well, I was watching it with an older family friend in her 50’s next to me. When “Cadillac, Dare Greatly” read at the end, my gut reaction was “come on now.” The family friend said “Oh, that was a nice commercial.” I know she identifies as liberal, so it seems like this ad is effective in being noncommittal enough to appeal bipartisan. In that sense, it seems like the Cadillac company did appeal effectively to their target audience, which is older people. Most young people I know who also saw the ad were unaffected or saw it as a cheap shot.
Company: General Electric
Ad Title: What If Millie Dresselhaus, Female Scientist, Was Treated Like A Celebrity
Ad Premise: The ad begs the question, What If Millie Dresselhaus, Female Scientist, Was Treated Like A Celebrity? There are several shots of Dresselhaus being celebrated: a little girl excitedly unwraps a Millie Dresselhaus figurine, kids dressed up as Millie Dresselhaus, people naming their babies ¨Millie,¨ Millie ¨emojis¨ appear on the iphone, and more. The screen later reads, ¨GE is helping create that world.,¨ immediately followed by, ¨Our goal is 20,000 women in technical roles by 2020.¨ After this, they a succession of headshots of women who work in technical roles at GE.
Who owns the company and what are their political affiliations? The chairman of the board and chief executive is Jeffrey Immelt, who belongs to the Republican party. However, he has spoken out against Trump and his anti-globalism stance publicly. He wrote, “Today, our globalization is driven by a desire to access fast-growing global markets [...] We still see substantial opportunity to grow around the world by investing, operating, and building relationships in the countries where we do business.” He has also expressed concern over the Muslim Ban. “We are a very global team and we will stand together as the global political situation continues to evolve," he said. Although he does not agree with everything Trump says, he has also stated in interviews that he likes some of the things Trump is doing, such as tax reform, infrastructure, and regulatory reform.
Who is the consumer demographic? “A GE consumer is generally very high income, Caucasian, and senior age.” -InfoScout
What political issues are referenced? There is a lot of talk about the lack of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) jobs. Under the new administration, sexism and undermining of women is rampant. This advertisement claims the company is working to change the narrative.
Does the ad deliver a plan, promise, or to take a certain action relating to the political issue? Yes, ¨GE is helping create that world.¨ ¨Our goal is 20,000 women in technical roles by 2020.¨ GE actually does take real measures to work towards putting more women in STEM jobs. They have a program called “GE Girls” in which they educate middle school girls about STEM. The GE Foundation also donated $400,000 to an Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology.
This ad felt very effective, partially because it made a promise in regards to the social issue it was addressing and gave a concrete number (20,000 in tech jobs by 2020). And judging from precedent, they will actually make an effort to put more women in STEM jobs.
Ad Title: What If Millie Dresselhaus, Female Scientist, Was Treated Like A Celebrity
Ad Premise: The ad begs the question, What If Millie Dresselhaus, Female Scientist, Was Treated Like A Celebrity? There are several shots of Dresselhaus being celebrated: a little girl excitedly unwraps a Millie Dresselhaus figurine, kids dressed up as Millie Dresselhaus, people naming their babies ¨Millie,¨ Millie ¨emojis¨ appear on the iphone, and more. The screen later reads, ¨GE is helping create that world.,¨ immediately followed by, ¨Our goal is 20,000 women in technical roles by 2020.¨ After this, they a succession of headshots of women who work in technical roles at GE.
Who owns the company and what are their political affiliations? The chairman of the board and chief executive is Jeffrey Immelt, who belongs to the Republican party. However, he has spoken out against Trump and his anti-globalism stance publicly. He wrote, “Today, our globalization is driven by a desire to access fast-growing global markets [...] We still see substantial opportunity to grow around the world by investing, operating, and building relationships in the countries where we do business.” He has also expressed concern over the Muslim Ban. “We are a very global team and we will stand together as the global political situation continues to evolve," he said. Although he does not agree with everything Trump says, he has also stated in interviews that he likes some of the things Trump is doing, such as tax reform, infrastructure, and regulatory reform.
Who is the consumer demographic? “A GE consumer is generally very high income, Caucasian, and senior age.” -InfoScout
What political issues are referenced? There is a lot of talk about the lack of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) jobs. Under the new administration, sexism and undermining of women is rampant. This advertisement claims the company is working to change the narrative.
Does the ad deliver a plan, promise, or to take a certain action relating to the political issue? Yes, ¨GE is helping create that world.¨ ¨Our goal is 20,000 women in technical roles by 2020.¨ GE actually does take real measures to work towards putting more women in STEM jobs. They have a program called “GE Girls” in which they educate middle school girls about STEM. The GE Foundation also donated $400,000 to an Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology.
This ad felt very effective, partially because it made a promise in regards to the social issue it was addressing and gave a concrete number (20,000 in tech jobs by 2020). And judging from precedent, they will actually make an effort to put more women in STEM jobs.
Company: The New York Times
Ad Title: The Truth is Hard
Ad Premise: The ad begins with black text over a white background that simply reads, “The truth is our nation is more divided than ever.” The words, “The truth is” remain static on the screen as the other messages change: “The truth is alternative facts are lies., “The truth is the media is dishonest,” “The truth is a woman should dress like a woman,” “The truth is women’s rights are human rights.” They end up flashing by so quickly you can no longer read them. Then it ends with another succession of statements about truth. “The truth is hard to find.” “The truth is hard to know.” “The truth is more important now than ever.”
Who owns the company and what are their political affiliations? Being a newspaper, the New York Times is not supposed to have political affiliations. But let’s look into its editor and shareholders. Carlos Slim is the second richest man in the world, and in 2009 he gave the New York Times a $250 million dollar loan, whom was accused of attempting to undermine Trump during the election. Slim later came out saying he did not care about Trump or his personal life.
Who is the consumer demographic? A 2012 Pew Research data poll showed that young people like to read the New York Times. It is often accused of having a leftist bias.
What political issues are referenced? The matter of free press and truthful media coverage is the issue addressed here. Donald Trump has been notorious for his attack on any and all free press that openly criticize him, repeatedly using the term “fake news,” a phrase commonly used against Trump himself. On February 17th, 2017, Michael M. Grynbaum wrote an article for the New York Times entitled “Trump Calls the News Media ‘The Enemy of the American People.” On this day Trump tweeted, “The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!”
Does the ad deliver a plan, promise, or to take a certain action relating to the political issue? They might be promising to tell the truth, but it is not a concrete action plan. No specific promises were made.
This advertisement was extremely simplistic. This holds hands with its message of truthfulness. As a young person interested in journalism, the ad was very effective. Online comments on the sponsored instagram version of the ad are telling; many accuse the New York Times as being “fake news” itself.
Ad Title: The Truth is Hard
Ad Premise: The ad begins with black text over a white background that simply reads, “The truth is our nation is more divided than ever.” The words, “The truth is” remain static on the screen as the other messages change: “The truth is alternative facts are lies., “The truth is the media is dishonest,” “The truth is a woman should dress like a woman,” “The truth is women’s rights are human rights.” They end up flashing by so quickly you can no longer read them. Then it ends with another succession of statements about truth. “The truth is hard to find.” “The truth is hard to know.” “The truth is more important now than ever.”
Who owns the company and what are their political affiliations? Being a newspaper, the New York Times is not supposed to have political affiliations. But let’s look into its editor and shareholders. Carlos Slim is the second richest man in the world, and in 2009 he gave the New York Times a $250 million dollar loan, whom was accused of attempting to undermine Trump during the election. Slim later came out saying he did not care about Trump or his personal life.
Who is the consumer demographic? A 2012 Pew Research data poll showed that young people like to read the New York Times. It is often accused of having a leftist bias.
What political issues are referenced? The matter of free press and truthful media coverage is the issue addressed here. Donald Trump has been notorious for his attack on any and all free press that openly criticize him, repeatedly using the term “fake news,” a phrase commonly used against Trump himself. On February 17th, 2017, Michael M. Grynbaum wrote an article for the New York Times entitled “Trump Calls the News Media ‘The Enemy of the American People.” On this day Trump tweeted, “The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People!”
Does the ad deliver a plan, promise, or to take a certain action relating to the political issue? They might be promising to tell the truth, but it is not a concrete action plan. No specific promises were made.
This advertisement was extremely simplistic. This holds hands with its message of truthfulness. As a young person interested in journalism, the ad was very effective. Online comments on the sponsored instagram version of the ad are telling; many accuse the New York Times as being “fake news” itself.
Company: Budweiser
Ad Title: Born the Hard Way
Ad Premise: Our protagonist is a handsome white man. The ad begins with a shot of him, and someone off screen says “You don’t look like you’re from around here.” As we realize he is on a boat and getting thrown about due to harsh weather, we we also realize he is an immigrant. In German, a doctor asks him, “Why leave Germany?” In English, but with a thick German accent he responds “I vant to brew beer.” The screen jumps to him walking down a crowded American street. “Go back home!” A man yells at him. We see more shots of the man’s struggles: he jumps out of a burning ship, storms bad weather until finally, he arrives in America. At a bar, a man buys him a beer. He says “Sank you, but next time, zis is da beer ve drink.” He shows him a sketch of Budweiser. The man shakes his hand. The two introduce themselves as Anheuser and Busch. The next screen reads “Anheuser-Busch: When nothing stops your dream, this is the beer we drink.”
Who owns the company and what are their political affiliations? Anheuser-Busch InBev is the company that owns Budweiser, along with other beers (such as Stella Artois and Becks). This is another company that gives money to both the Democratic and Republican party. From 1998 to 2006, they gave more to the Republican party. They have recently given more to the Democratic party. In the 2016 election, they gave exponentially more money to the Republican party overall (however, Clinton is listed as a monetary recipient and Trump is not).
Who is the consumer demographic? “A Budweiser consumer is generally very low income, Asian, and older age. Budweiser consumers are more likely to purchase Budweiser during larger pantry stocking trips. InfoScout reports that brands such as Bud Light, Marlboro Gold Pack, and Armour also tend to be purchased in the same trip.” -InfoScout. A close second in consumers is caucasians. For more specific statistics, click the InfoScout Link.
What political issues are referenced? Immigration is the issue that is addressed in this advertisement. Germans were at one time considered outsiders in America. Today, Mexican and Muslim people are the ones that are being pushed out of this country. German people are white. Mexican and Muslim people are not white. They are paralleling the issue of German immigration in the 20th century to outsiders today, who face very different problems.
Does the ad deliver a plan, promise, or to take a certain action relating to the political issue? No plan or promise made related to social issue.
Budweiser is actually foreign owned, InBev being based in Belgium and Brazil. Last summer, they made a movement to rebrand in the most American way possible: by renaming the beer “America.” Yes. Actually. They make it clear that their beer is “not imported.” I recently saw a Budweiser truck sporting the Patriotic look seen below.
Ad Title: Born the Hard Way
Ad Premise: Our protagonist is a handsome white man. The ad begins with a shot of him, and someone off screen says “You don’t look like you’re from around here.” As we realize he is on a boat and getting thrown about due to harsh weather, we we also realize he is an immigrant. In German, a doctor asks him, “Why leave Germany?” In English, but with a thick German accent he responds “I vant to brew beer.” The screen jumps to him walking down a crowded American street. “Go back home!” A man yells at him. We see more shots of the man’s struggles: he jumps out of a burning ship, storms bad weather until finally, he arrives in America. At a bar, a man buys him a beer. He says “Sank you, but next time, zis is da beer ve drink.” He shows him a sketch of Budweiser. The man shakes his hand. The two introduce themselves as Anheuser and Busch. The next screen reads “Anheuser-Busch: When nothing stops your dream, this is the beer we drink.”
Who owns the company and what are their political affiliations? Anheuser-Busch InBev is the company that owns Budweiser, along with other beers (such as Stella Artois and Becks). This is another company that gives money to both the Democratic and Republican party. From 1998 to 2006, they gave more to the Republican party. They have recently given more to the Democratic party. In the 2016 election, they gave exponentially more money to the Republican party overall (however, Clinton is listed as a monetary recipient and Trump is not).
Who is the consumer demographic? “A Budweiser consumer is generally very low income, Asian, and older age. Budweiser consumers are more likely to purchase Budweiser during larger pantry stocking trips. InfoScout reports that brands such as Bud Light, Marlboro Gold Pack, and Armour also tend to be purchased in the same trip.” -InfoScout. A close second in consumers is caucasians. For more specific statistics, click the InfoScout Link.
What political issues are referenced? Immigration is the issue that is addressed in this advertisement. Germans were at one time considered outsiders in America. Today, Mexican and Muslim people are the ones that are being pushed out of this country. German people are white. Mexican and Muslim people are not white. They are paralleling the issue of German immigration in the 20th century to outsiders today, who face very different problems.
Does the ad deliver a plan, promise, or to take a certain action relating to the political issue? No plan or promise made related to social issue.
Budweiser is actually foreign owned, InBev being based in Belgium and Brazil. Last summer, they made a movement to rebrand in the most American way possible: by renaming the beer “America.” Yes. Actually. They make it clear that their beer is “not imported.” I recently saw a Budweiser truck sporting the Patriotic look seen below.
Company: 84 Lumber
Ad Title: The Journey Begins/ The Entire Journey
Ad Premise: The ad aired is a shorter version of the full, nearly 6 minute ad. It features a young Mexican girl, probably about five or six years old, and her mother making an emotional journey to the US border. Once they finally arrive, they are met with a huge wall. They push open the doors of the wall and enter. Away drives a truck with wood pieces in the back, over which reads “The will to succeed is always welcome here.”
Who owns the company and what are their political affiliations? Of all the companies I have researched thus far, there is the largest disparity of political contributions. They give exorbitantly more money to the Republican party.
Who is the consumer demographic? This information is not easily accessible.
What political issues are referenced? Trump’s wall, the immigration ban, racism against Mexican immigrants.
Does the ad deliver a plan, promise, or to take a certain action relating to the political issue? No promise is delivered. I searched to find anything at all relating to the issue and I could not find any literature.
84 Lumber was a relatively unknown company before their Superbowl ad aired. The full version of the ad was deemed too controversial, and was banned by Fox. The full version is easily accessible online.
Common Themes Throughout:
These companies are skilfully sending a lot of mixed messages that conglomerate into a satisfyingly noncommittal stance that helps the companies to stay on top. When you dig deeper, these companies rarely just lean left or right (save for 84 Lumber and Budweiser during the 2016 election) even if they might seem to on the surface. This actually shouldn’t be so surprising, but it is rightfully confusing. As a corporation trying to maximize its utility, naturally they would want to add value to their company for as many consumers as possible.
We live in a capitalist country. The point of this is to have a free market that the government has very limited powers to interfere with. But that doesn’t mean these corporations don’t have power in the government.
Should we buy a product because we think a company’s views align with ours? No. Often times, the advertisements are manipulating us into making us think they are aligning with us. In truth, the ads are deceptively vague and only an attempt to add value to their product by means of political sensitivity. Is aligning with a company morally the effects of being manipulated by capitalism? Or is now simply a crucial time for anyone and everyone to use their large platform to send a message? Is this simply free media fighting back? Why now, more than ever, does it feel like advertisements have a political taint? Which of these ads were effective? Can any of these industries seemingly anti-Trump statements spark real change? And why, right now, do these companies want to pose as progressive?
Ad Title: The Journey Begins/ The Entire Journey
Ad Premise: The ad aired is a shorter version of the full, nearly 6 minute ad. It features a young Mexican girl, probably about five or six years old, and her mother making an emotional journey to the US border. Once they finally arrive, they are met with a huge wall. They push open the doors of the wall and enter. Away drives a truck with wood pieces in the back, over which reads “The will to succeed is always welcome here.”
Who owns the company and what are their political affiliations? Of all the companies I have researched thus far, there is the largest disparity of political contributions. They give exorbitantly more money to the Republican party.
Who is the consumer demographic? This information is not easily accessible.
What political issues are referenced? Trump’s wall, the immigration ban, racism against Mexican immigrants.
Does the ad deliver a plan, promise, or to take a certain action relating to the political issue? No promise is delivered. I searched to find anything at all relating to the issue and I could not find any literature.
84 Lumber was a relatively unknown company before their Superbowl ad aired. The full version of the ad was deemed too controversial, and was banned by Fox. The full version is easily accessible online.
Common Themes Throughout:
- Referring to our Nation as a “Divided” One. Both the Cadillac ad and the New York Times Ad use the term “divided” when referring to our country. Is this a ploy to further divide us, bring us together, or just to push us towards something (that thing being the product/service the company provides).
- Corporations giving to both sides. Many of these companies list both the Republican party and the Democratic party as recipients of their political donations. Usually, though, they will give more money to one party than to another, but not an exponential difference. Why is this?
These companies are skilfully sending a lot of mixed messages that conglomerate into a satisfyingly noncommittal stance that helps the companies to stay on top. When you dig deeper, these companies rarely just lean left or right (save for 84 Lumber and Budweiser during the 2016 election) even if they might seem to on the surface. This actually shouldn’t be so surprising, but it is rightfully confusing. As a corporation trying to maximize its utility, naturally they would want to add value to their company for as many consumers as possible.
We live in a capitalist country. The point of this is to have a free market that the government has very limited powers to interfere with. But that doesn’t mean these corporations don’t have power in the government.
Should we buy a product because we think a company’s views align with ours? No. Often times, the advertisements are manipulating us into making us think they are aligning with us. In truth, the ads are deceptively vague and only an attempt to add value to their product by means of political sensitivity. Is aligning with a company morally the effects of being manipulated by capitalism? Or is now simply a crucial time for anyone and everyone to use their large platform to send a message? Is this simply free media fighting back? Why now, more than ever, does it feel like advertisements have a political taint? Which of these ads were effective? Can any of these industries seemingly anti-Trump statements spark real change? And why, right now, do these companies want to pose as progressive?
