In 1952, Democratic Presidential nominee Adlai Stevenson was infamously photographed wearing shoes with a hole worn through the sole. Soon after, Stevenson supporters ran a televised commercial featuring a woman, clad in evening wear and pearls, singing, "I'd rather have a man with a hole in his shoes than a hole in everything he says!" The 1952 presidential election was the first to feature such televised campaign advertisements. Since then, the nature of these advertisements has changed greatly, but they continue to play an important role in U.S. presidential campaigns. On The Living Room Candidate, a website created by the Museum of the Moving Image, visitors can explore a number of these advertisements by election year. Visitors can also search this extensive collection (over 300 videos total) by Type of Commercial - a list that includes "backfire," "children," and "fear." While checking out these video clips, visitors can also get quick synopses of past candidates and view final Electoral College results. Educators can find accompanying lesson plans in the For Teachers section.
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