Attack ad

Attack ad in election terms is an advertisement whose message is meant as an attack against another candidate or political party. The ad criticizes the opponent's platform, usually by pointing out its faults and contrasting them against its own platform. The ads can be very useful in helping public opinion. One of the earliest, and one of the most famous, attack ads was one used by Lyndon Johnson against Barry Goldwater. The ad opened with a young girl innocently strolling through a field and gathering flowers. It then sharply cut to an extreme close up to her eye and then an image of a nuclear explosion. The ad was shocking and disturbing, but also very effective. It convinced many that Goldwater's more aggressive approach to fighting the Cold War could result in a nuclear apocalypse.

Attack ads can also backfire, however. If an ad is seen as going too far or being to personal the voters will turn against the party that put out the ad. One example of an attack ad backfiring was during the 1993 Canadian election when the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada attacked Liberal Party of Canada candidate Jean Chrétien by mocking his facial deformity. Outrage followed and the PCs were hurt badly in the polls.