What Does It Take to Change a Voter's Mind?
On Monday November 3, the night before the coming election, your team will present a campaign television commercial on a specific California proposition to the registered voters of the Metro community. The purpose of your ad is to persuade your audience on how to vote in the California election on the following day.
Your Task
Each team of four students will create the following products:
- a research brief on the issue of your proposal
- focus group research, based on interviews you conduct with the target voters of your campaign
- a campaign commercial (30 seconds or less) on one of the ballot initiatives in the upcoming election
Your Success
Your success depends on:
- the quality of the research on your team’s proposition
- your understanding of the art and science of voter persuasion
- your skill in video production and editing
- your ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced, deadline-demanding election schedule
- the critical thinking and communication skills you develop in forming a sustained political argument
Campaign Ads 2008
The Upper Division students of Metro are proud to present their political ads for the California propositions of November 2008. These videos are the product of months of researching the ballot, interviewing voters, studying the media, thinking critically about the issues, and spending hours in video production.
We are thrilled that ABC-7 News came to Metro to film a story about our project. See the ABC-7 News story.
All of the ads are posted here.
Congratulations to the students of Metro for their wildly successful exhibition night.
Reference Documents
- The Propositions
- Project Schedule
- Campaign Ad Production Teams
- Useful Links
- Downloads
- Invitation to Voter Information Night
- Examples from Campaign Ad Project 2006
- Campaign Ads 2008
Benchmarks
- Ballot Review : due 9/19
- Team Platform : due 9/26
- Focus Group Research : due 9/29
- Commercial Treatment Proposal : due 10/3
- Commerical Storyboard and Script : due 10/8
- First Draft of Campaign Commercial : due 10/22
- Program Notes : due 10/22
- Final Draft of Campaign Commercial : due 10/29
- White Paper : due 12/12
Example of Student Work from 2008
No on Prop 8: Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry
Produced by Carmen Alvarado, Kai Cobbins, Gabriella Miranda, Rachel Steinwand, Ati Thamok
Straight and married couples between the ages of 40 and 60 are our target voters. Most straight parents don’t want their kids to grow up thinking that it’s okay to be gay. The reason why married or straight couples could vote “yes” on Prop 8 is because it would protect the definition of “marriage.” The way that we plan to sway them to vote “no” on Prop 8 is to show them that everyone deserves full, American rights and equality under all circumstances. We believe that if we can sway the minds of these swing voters, then they can change the minds of their children. Voters between the ages of 40 and 60 were born in a certain generation, in which we believe that they may know more of American history and our struggle for all equal rights, such as Martin Luther King Jr., the women’s rights movement, and Harvey Milk.