Final answer:
The primary goals of political campaign ads are to foster name recognition, highlight issue positions, and drive voter turnout. The approach changes from the primary to the general election, with more focus on convincing undecided voters and party loyalists during the latter, and can involve both positive and negative advertising tactics to achieve these ends.
Step-by-step explanation:
The goals of political campaign ads are multi-faceted and vary between primary elections and general elections. During primaries, campaign ads aim to highlight issue positions and increase name recognition. Examples include Hillary Clinton's holiday ad featuring issue-oriented presents and Mike Huckabee's humorous ad with Chuck Norris, which helped voters remember Huckabee's name and his position on the issues. By the general election, with each party having a single candidate, the objective shifts to persuading undecided voters and ensuring that party loyalists turn out to vote. Ads may focus on comparing issue and policy positions or evoke emotions to drive voter turnout, as seen in Lyndon B. Johnson's 'Daisy Girl' ad or Joe Biden's 'What Happens Now' ad.
Political advertising also adopts negative tones to create memorable impressions and target less ideological, more independent voters who are less likely to conduct extensive research on the candidates. However, negative ads may also discourage voter turnout by fostering cynicism about politics. Regardless of the approach, the overarching goal of campaign advertisements, as per David Mayhew's argument, is to aid politicians, especially members of Congress, in getting reelected through activities like advertising, credit claiming, and position taking. Learn more about Campaign Ads here: