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Seibert
Tiffany Seibert
Professor R. Kramer
CAS 137H
12 October 2015
Kennedy And Nixon Compared: Who Won The Elections Commercial
Campaign?
Will you choose the fight against communism or good character?
Will you choose a hard working average American or a privileged,
Harvard graduate? Will you choose Richard Nixon or John F. Kennedy?
These are the questions that many voters faced in the 1960 election
season as they saw the various commercials produced and endorsed
by each presidential candidate. It is the candidates jobs to address
issues with the use of kairos, logos, ethos, and pathos in mind.
Kennedys commercial has appeal to every voters age and
background. It depicts eager supporters and a cheerful tone. Kennedy,
through his commercial, shows that he exemplifies the American
dream and invites you to join in. Nixons commercial, in contrast,
while it appeals to the voters, only appeals to the most educated
voters, who care only about one topic, communism. Nixon is starring in
the commercial, in a posed manner, not inviting the American people
into his heart, but rather looking as an untouchable figure. Through

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word repetition, appeal to voters concerns, and the all American
commonplace, John F. Kennedys 1960 Election campaign commercial
and jingle more effectively contrasts its competitor, Richard Nixons
1960 election Peace commercial.
First, through word repetition John F. Kennedys commercial sticks
with viewers unlike Nixons commercial, of which both were released at
around the same time. Nixons commercial is direct, strict, and
unwavering. When evaluating just the audio of Nixons commercial, we
hear a strictly posed question from a person directing the commercial.
We then hear a strict answer uttered from Nixons mouth. The
questioner poses the question: What is the truth, can we continue to
have peace, while Khrushchev is trying to stir up the whole world
against us? (The Living Room Candidate, Internet) The pointed answer
that comes from Nixons mouth comes with no surprise. It is a stark
answer; where no empathy or emotion is shown from Nixon. Much like,
Adolf Hitlers reply to his people towards the end of his rule over
Germany, when he was becoming afraid. Nixons tone and essence
does not appeal to the pathos of the people at this point in time; his
reply is just too stark and to gloomy sounding. A person must win over
the hearts and the minds of the people, in order to effectively rule
them.

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In contrast, Kennedys commercial, through its word repetition
and light-hearted tone sticks with voters and is engrained in the hearts
of the American people. Logos soon follows, with sentences like, A
man who is old enough to know and young enough to do, now a
repeating melody in many American homes. Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy, also sticks in the minds of the American people, appealing even
more to logos. (JFK - Campaign Jingle 1960 Election Ad, Internet) It
creates a theme song for John F. Kennedy that will be uttered
throughout voters houses; much like the opening song of the TV show,
Thats So Raven which was constantly uttered from my mouth when I
was a young child wanting to be a Disney Channel Queen, just like
Raven was. The song was engraved in my heart and mind and through
that I was one step closer towards becoming a Disney Star.
Second, Kennedys commercial appealed to a wide range of
voters both young and old, while Nixons commercial was for the more
experienced voters and those voters that werent fancied by jingles
and just wanted it straight. As election season draws upon voters,
many new voters and older voters are faced with the challenge of
choosing the best and brightest candidate for president. Throughout
the campaign misleading information about a candidate may surface.
The best candidate puts that information to the test in a way that
shows that he or she is the best candidate for president. Kennedys
commercial does just that; it puts the misleading information to rest in

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the most un-stark way possible. The commercial talks about how, even
though, Kennedy is young, he still knows what is going on, appealing to
ethos of the voters. Also, it tells the voters that he will take action and
not sit around like older presidents may do. The creators of the
Kennedy commercial tried to twist out every misconception about
Kennedy in the commercial in hopes of making Kennedy an easy choice
for voters. The commercial continues to do this by depicting happy
voters and a wide-grinned Kennedy, showing voters that have yet to
decide that they will not be alone in voting for Kennedy; further
appealing to the voters pathos.
Furthermore, when comparing Kennedy and Nixons
commercials, Nixons Peace commercial zeros in on one topic, which
does not focus so much on the voters concern than the countrys
concern. Nixons commercial focuses on the topic of protecting the U.S.
against communism. This topic may not reach younger, newer voters
because it does not address the concerns surrounding the president
himself, but rather a worldlier problem. Nixon is posed in an
unwelcoming crouched pose, closed off from the viewers. When
answering the question, said by the singular voice behind the camera,
he remains tall and posed, with very little fluctuation in the mouth. It
shows voters that Nixon can only be serious and that he projects
unhappiness in a way. Nixons commercial appeals only to the logos of
the voters.

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Third, Kennedys commercial appeals to the American Dream
commonplace through the commercials use of kairos and touching of
voters pathos. In contrast, Nixons commercial shows no awareness to
what the voters need at the time of the commercials release in order
to full-heartedly vote for Nixon. The American dream is a goal set by
many Americans; it is a belief in the way of how life should be in
America. The American dream is the white picket fenced house in a
safe neighborhood, along with a picturesque happy family with two
kids, a dog, and a cat. Kennedy, in the eyes of many Americans, was
seen as a celebrity-like figure, because he exemplified the American
Dream in many ways. The Kennedy family loved football, family, and
many of them graduated from Ivy League schools, including Kennedy
himself. Kennedy had a beautiful wife and cute little daughter.
Dwindled down to the bone, Kennedy had the looks, was educated, and
had celebrity-like power. Kennedys commercial exemplifies his power
and education by depicting happiness among voters, who rallied for
Kennedy. Kennedy employed kairos to give the voters a glimpse into
his life and something that Nixon was not giving them.
Also, in contrast, Nixons commercial gave no glimpse of hope;
rather, it created an atmosphere of concern and worry. Yes, the
commercial showed that Nixon was qualified and that he was educated
in policy, but there was no a-ha moment created throughout the
commercial. Though Nixon was a more average man than Kennedy,

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Nixons commercial did not show the voters any type of success they
would see in the future. Kennedy touched Americans deepest desires
and that his what made his campaign commercial successful.
Its up to you; its up to you; its strictly up to you! (JFK Campaign Jingle 1960 Election Ad, Internet) Despite Kennedy winning
the election, issues like his faith cost him about 1.5 million votes (t).
Kennedys commercial put most concerns to rest. He won over many
voters through his television appearances, both commercial and noncommercial. Both Nixon and Kennedys commercials appeal to the
American peoples logos. However, Unlike Nixons ad Kennedys
commercial touches the hearts of voters through the light-hearted tune
and happy images depicted. Nixons ad is serious and not personal
making it hard for viewers to connect emotionally. Kennedy exemplifies
the American dream through his education, values, and power.
Through word repetition, appeal to voters concerns, and the all
American commonplace, John F. Kennedys 1960 Election campaign
commercial and jingle more effectively contrasts its competitor,
Richard Nixons 1960 Election Peace Commercial.

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Works Cited
JFK - Campaign Jingle 1960 Election Ad. Perf. John F. Kennedy and
Various Unnamed Civilians. pendIndeent Film Producers
Collection, 1960. Youtube. Youtube- UnreportedResistance, 29
Dec. 2008. Web. 26 Sept. 2015.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLXTB_S193w>.
"The Election of 1960." U.S. History: Pre-Columbian to the New
Millennium. Independence Hall Association, 2014. Web. 12 Oct.
2015. <http://www.ushistory.org/us/56a.asp>.
"Nixon "Peace" Commercial - 1960 Election Commercials." The Living
Room Candidate. Museum of the Moving Image, 2012. Web. 12
Oct. 2015.
<http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1960/mostimportant-issue>.
The Living Room Candidate. Museum of the Moving Image, 2012. Web.
12 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/1960/mostimportant-issue>.