Why Do Political Ads Always Feel So Rude?

Imagine you're trying to convince your friends who likes ice cream, but instead of saying how tasty it is, you keep telling them that the person who doesn't like ice cream is a bad friend. That's kind of what political ads do, they try to make other people look bad so your favorite candidate looks good. It might feel rude, but it works well for making sure voters remember the message.

Take the quiz →

Examples

  1. A political ad says, 'Candidate A is lazy and doesn’t care about schools,' while showing Candidate B working hard at a school.
  2. An ad shows a person who looks very angry saying, 'If you don't vote for me, your taxes will go up!'
  3. An ad says, 'Candidate C eats hamburgers all day and never brushes their teeth.'

Ask a question

See also

Discussion

Recent activity