Worksheet for The Living Room Candidate Online Exhibition

Analyze one of the groups of ads from The Living Room Candidate using the following questions. Please print a copy to work from:

1. Does the candidate appear in the ad? If so, how is he dressed? Is he alone or with a group? What image is he trying to convey?

2. What is the setting for the ad? Why do you think the ad producers opted for this setting?

3. What kinds of people are in the ad? (Race, religion, gender, age, occupation.) Why do you think the ad producers chose these people?

4. How would you characterize the music that was used in the ad? Why do you think that kind of music was selected?

5. If there is a narrator or narrators, how would you characterize his/her/their delivery or voice(s)? Why do you think the producers chose this kind of narration?

6. Does the ad appeal to the emotions, the intellect, or both? Explain.

7. Is the ad negative? Positive? Issue oriented? Provide evidence to support your position.

8. Does the ad use images that illustrate the text in an unsurprising, storybook kind of way or does it use images that are surprising or shocking?

9. Who do think is the target audience for the ad? Provide evidence to support your position.

10. Do you think the ad is effective? Why or why not?

11. Are there historical or other references you do not understand?