Living Room Candidate

Living Room Candidate – A remarkable exhibit from the Museum of the Moving Image, this archive includes many of the television ads run in presidential campaigns since 1952. From Eisenhower forward through Daisy, The Bear and all the way up to Will.I.am saying Yes We Can.

One way to assign is to provide direct links to a series of ads and invite students to compare and contrast or find common themes and techniques. Another is to analyze one year’s ads and pull out the conversation that takes place through ads over the campaign season.

If you have used commercials with your students before, please leave a note sharing what you used, how you used it, and what worked well. Thanks!