What kind of person watches hours of political commercials? Apparently my kind does. This election has taken the media by storm in the past months, so I decided to delve deeper into the election’s role in the media to further understand what makes a political campaign successful. After hours of watching 30-second clip after 30-second clip, I thought I couldn’t take anymore of “I approve this message” and “Hillary said this” or “Donald said that.” But I did notice in all the ads that I watched, there were aspects that made me laugh, made me cry and even made me angry. I realize I am one person, and my views on these ads might be completely different from the person sitting right next to me, but these are the things I noticed that made me say, “Hey! If I was voting in November, I might consider them. This ad is really working for me!”

Positivity (or anything other than ferociously attacking your opponent) is key:

In the abundance of ads I watched, I found that the ones where a candidate was attacking their opponent were less appealing. I would much rather watch a 30-second clip of a sweet old veteran telling his story rather than watch Hillary Clinton attack Donald Trump. I felt more inclined towards a certain candidate when they talked about themselves rather than their opponent.

If a majority of these ads are less than a minute long, there is little time to get the point across. The more time the candidate spent talking about the good things they do, the more confident I felt in that candidate. When Donald Trump spent a whole commercial attacking his opponents, it made me think he was insecure and trying to prove that he was the best. The ads that made the candidate seem self-assured and confident in themselves were much more appealing.

Relatability:

No one likes to feel alone, like their beliefs are completely different from everyone else’s. We all want to feel like we belong and relate to others’ struggles. When we hear in a Trump ad about the woman who feels protected when she has her gun, or the war veteran talking about the sacrifices they have made in a Clinton commercial, we feel a connection.

As much as these candidates are trying to take a stab at their opponent, in the end, they are just trying to relate to the American public. And it works.

I couldn’t help myself from getting a serious case of “ugly cry” as I watched young girls look in the mirror and listen to comments Donald Trump has made about women in years past. I felt like I could relate. Not necessarily to the staring into a mirror silently while listening to Donald Trump, but to the fact that those are just regular girls like me. It was understandable that hearing such crude comments would make them feel something.

A comprehensive list of all the techniques that I am sick and tired of seeing in political advertisements:

• Attack ads! Why can’t we alljust be nice to each other?

• Crying

• Fife and drum music

• Clips of dark clouds behind the White House

• The menacing voiceover in every attack ad that has ever been put out, ever

• More crying

• Doomsday ads: Please don’t tell me about how the country will be ruined and life will be horrible if your opponent gets elected. I want to hear about how great the country will be if YOU get elected.

• Instilling fear in the audience. I don’t like being scared.

• Even more crying

In the coming years and elections, I hope to see less of the things on this list and more of a candidate just stating their beliefs. I often find myself wondering what a candidate is even fighting for. Instead, I see Trump ads calling Hillary Clinton a criminal, Clinton ads calling Donald Trump a liar and so forth. If the candidates spent less time focusing on their opponent and more time focusing on their audience – and let’s face it, that’s who matters –they would make the most of their 30 seconds of airtime.

After watching all these ads, there was one that spoke to me the most from Hillary Clinton. I had seen it before in passing, but I never really thought anything of it.

The commercial shows a handful of children sitting in front of the TV watching clips of Donald Trump saying “unsavory” things about women, people with disabilities and other minorities.

I was moved. You wouldn’t have even known it was a Hillary ad until the end. No gimmicks, no jingles, no attacks – none of the ad techniques we traditionally see.

I suppose this is the point of a political ad. Whether you support Hillary, Trump or any other candidate, an ad is powerful. A successful ad moves you.