Whatever Happened to Jingles in Political Ads?

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Here are a couple old timey campaign spots to remind you of when politics was simpler. Or if politics wasn’t simpler, political messaging certainly was. The message of the first? “I like Ike.” Literally, that’s it — over and over and over. The message of the second? “Kennedy Kennedy Kennedy.” Good times.

This one’s from the Eisenhower campaign in 1952:

This one is from the Kennedy campaign in 1960:

But just so you don’t think attack ads are a new invention, here’s one where the Kennedy campaign gets nasty, using Ike’s words against his own VP, Richard Nixon.

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“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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