Why Do The Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton Ads Get Such Different Receptions?


The Bernie Sanders campaign just released the latest in its “America” ad series, and it’s already getting lots of attention. This particular ad is targeted towards the state of New York, where Sanders is currently behind in the polls. The ad already has 164,000 views as of the writing of this article. But why do the Sanders ads do so well while the Clinton ads don’t? After all, they just released two of their own ads on the same day, but those ads only have just under 6,500 views combined.

There are a few different answers here. First, there is the age argument. It’s well known by now that Bernie Sanders draws his strongest support from younger voters. While use of the Internet is common now, older voters still aren’t as likely to spend their time surfing YouTube as a 24-year old would. The younger crowd is more engaged online and more likely to spread an ad across the web. This only serves to draw more attention and continue the loop.

Secondly, there is the style argument. Many of the ads released by the Sanders campaign aren’t your typical campaign fare. For example, the first “America” ad mentions nothing about what accomplishments Sanders has under his belt but received positive attention from all corners of the media. The latest ad follows the same formula and is already on its way to the same heights. The most popular ad Secretary Clinton has released this year was her “Real Life” ad, starring Shonda Rhimes, Kerry Washington, Ellen Pompeo, and Viola Davis. Notably, this ad also doesn’t track with what a classic campaign ad is normally like.

And finally, there is the revolution argument. Bernie Sanders wants to start a political revolution. It makes sense that supporters of a revolution would support their candidate with more fervor than the average political supporter. Senator Sanders has run one of the most successful grassroots campaigns in history. As has been repeated many times, the average donation to the Sanders campaign is just $27. With that kind of support, it’s almost guaranteed that Sanders’s ads will be successful.

*Written with the assistance of fellow Liberal America writer Travis Bille.

Featured image via Flickr by Michael Vadon under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.