Despite our best appeals to intelligence and policy, an election is a popularity contest. One way for candidates to increase their likeability and win over voters is with a political image ad. Often the key is voice over that is likeable too. One that is relatable and friendly. Image ads introduce the candidate to voters by illuminating the candidate’s views, experiences, virtues and how they relate to voter issues in an attempt to garner votes. Choosing a congenial messenger a.k.a a great sounding voice artist, is critical to an image ad’s success.
By inviting the viewer into the candidate’s world, image ads are meant to highlight the humanity, the intelligence, the compassion, the strength, or the humility – whatever traits are sought by their constituency – and reveal who the candidate is in a way that benefits the campaign. Most importantly, they embody what their party wants the public to associate with them and what they want a voter to remember on their way into the voting booth.
Likeability and Emotions – The Positive Political Ad Voiceover
Defining likeability, and more specifically knowing how to achieve it in a meaningful way whether we are examining our positive political ad from a voiceover perspective or from its copy, involves at least some consideration of emotions. Image ads are essentially taken by the viewer to mean positive in an overarching way, even if the candidate is speaking about tough issues. According to one study on Inquiries Journal comparing positive and negative ads, it found “positive campaigning is more likely to garner a candidate a larger number of voters and said voters will also be more trusting of and optimistic about the candidate they choose to support due to the positivity of his or her campaign.” In much the same way that political attack ads play to emotions, image ads do as well, just the other end of the emotional spectrum.
More specifically, they endeavor to paint a portrait of the candidate that will bring out the Similarity Attraction Effect: We Like People Who Are Like Us. By letting voters get to know who they’re voting for, and by resonating with the voice (over) in the voters head, the idea is that they’ll start to see the candidate as “us” instead of “them”. Take that effect, mix in some association (a strategy that links the candidate to something or someone you emotionally connect with from personal experience) and a la Bob Ross bring out the “happy little trees” while painting the candidate’s life story/political views/desire to be in government, and you have a powerful depiction to use to bring voters to the fold.
The Vocal Portrait of a Candidate in a Political Image Ad
The voiceover in political image ads reinforces that portrait of a candidate vocally. The voice artist pulls from their actor’s toolkit to find the right tone to frame the image and billboard the message. And with that acting experience, they possess the nuanced skills to be able to combine that tone with an attitude, a pacing, a knowledge of when to drive a message home and when to step back and let the words take over.
For example, if an image ad is working to affect public perception of a candidate as “hard working” or “a leader”, voice over choices might counterpoint that with a light touch or underline it with an earnest tone or a “get it done” attitude. Perhaps it would lead the delivery to grow in an inspirational crescendo like a general marshalling the troops. Another candidate’s image ad might call for a comforting aspect or a bit of a quirky smile paired with the takeaway that “he’s family-oriented”. Working with the director hired by the advocacy agency or copywriter, the voice actor is going to be able to capture the humanity in the message.
In Political Ad Heart Strings – Voice Actor Plays the Emotion
Although over the years political ads that tug on heart strings have been made for both sides of the aisle , candidates in the Democratic Primary field for President in 2020, have effectively tied issues to their personalities and backgrounds. For example, Elizabeth Warren’s background as a poor kid from Oklahoma who recalls her mother’s hesitation to take her to the doctor when she was a child because of a lack of finances gives her immediate believability when talking about the punishing costs of healthcare. Pete Buttigieg’s time serving in Iraq and Afghanistan make him a credible authority on US Foreign Policy and the cost of war. Beto O’Rourke’s childhood growing up on the border of Texas and Mexico lend him a trustworthiness on positions about immigration and border security. Image ads support issue-oriented messaging and are more effective at solidifying emotional connections between candidate and viewer or listener. Anyone who has struggled or been touched by these issues may feel an affiliation to those candidates because of their image.
Laid against the backdrop of a well told story with brilliantly crafted copy, a polished or down-to-earth candidate that has a well branded message, the professional voice actor’s job is to tie these elements together vocally and play the appropriate emotion. To imbue the candidate with likeability. To sound trustworthy and persuade whoever is listening. To inspire voters to join the campaign and contribute time or money or both. To give the viewer the sense that they know the candidate and see themselves and their loved ones reflected in the messages. Doing this well involves nuance and subtlety as well as facility and flexibility. And like any good painter, it’s the artist who can do all of that who creates the masterpiece.