Sections

Commentary

Top Five Ads for Obama

Thanks to SuperPACS, this year has been record-breaking in terms of the volume of advertisements. Obama and Romney have spent around $1 billion in each of their overall campaigns and about half of that has gone towards political commercials.

Through a combination of television, radio, and web ads, the candidates have used ads to define their opponent and set the overall tone of the campaign. Obama’s spots have sought to portray Romney as an out-of-touch rich guy who doesn’t care about the middle class and follows an extreme policy agenda, while Romney characterizes the President as having bad economic policies that made the recession worse.

We’re reviewing the leading advertisements for Obama and Romney as well as their affiliated groups. This blog post looks at the best TV ads for Obama; I’ve also looked at the best TV ads for Romney here.

1. Barack Obama, “Swiss Bank Account”

2. Barack Obama, “Main Street”

3. Priorities USA, “Understands”

4. Priorities USA Action, “Stick” 

5. Barack Obama, “Determination”

Which advertisement do you think had the most impact?

The Brookings Institution is committed to quality, independence, and impact.
We are supported by a diverse array of funders. In line with our values and policies, each Brookings publication represents the sole views of its author(s).