Music and Presidental Ads

The first ad that I watched was Obama's first official ad before he had ever became president. He was talking about change in the school system, change in the taxation, and change in healthcare. Although he never pulled through, the ad was positive. The music in the background sounded like a symphony playing. To me, the music made the ad sound hopeful. I think that they had applied this music for that specific reason. I don't think it would have changed the message of the ad if the music were taken out of the ad. The second as that I watched was Richard Nixon's ad against the Vietnam war. The background music was tribal sounding and mostly consisted of drums. This tied into the video clips and pictures shown of the war in Vietnam. I think that if the music were to be taken out, the video would have been less dramatic. Since the ad was about war and the need for new U.S. leadership, I would have to say that the ad was definitely negative.  I think that music in any ad is an important element to have. Music makes things seem more important or dramatic and is a very influential tool that can be used in several forms of media.