clinton's "role models" ad showed small children watching trump make some of his more controversial comments and asked if he is the role model americans want for their children.  | screen grab by daniel strauss 11/06/16 07:32 am est even before donald trump dominated the media's attention, it was always going to be hard to get heard in 2016. between a crowded republican field, a flush hillary clinton campaign and a flood of super pac spending, there was always enough money coming into the race to ensure the campaign<u+2019>s political ads would be loud, frequent and furious. with the inclusion of trump, who boasts a preternatural ability to find the center of attention, that challenge only grew. that was doubly true for congressional candidates, who had to scrap for attention against the backdrop of the wildest presidential race in memory. story continued below and yet, from time to time, either because of great personal stature, great timing or a great ability to assemble a military-grade weapon while wearing a blindfold, candidates managed to break through. here are 16 ads that mattered in the 2016 election. 1. hillary clinton started her 2016 campaign on a folksy note, announcing her campaign in a two-minute video featuring everyday americans <u+2014> including happy couples, cute kids and a funny dog <u+2014> talking about their plans for the year ahead. near the video<u+2019>s end, clinton announces she<u+2019>s running for president, saying she<u+2019>s <u+201c>hitting the road to earn your vote.<u+201d> it<u+2019>s a far cry from her 2008 announcement in which she kicked off her campaign with a solo video in which she states she<u+2019>s <u+201c>starting a presidential exploratory committee.<u+201d> 2. during the fall of 2015, the draft biden 2016 super pac produced an ad featuring biden describing how his first wife and children died in a car crash. biden got close to jumping into the race <u+2014> and hacked emails published by wikileaks suggest the clinton camp was preparing for him to so <u+2014> but in october he opted to stay out of the race and has been a clinton supporter since she clinched the nomination. 3. ohio gov. john kasich, one of donald trump<u+2019>s most aggressive primary opponents, released an attack ad focusing on donald trump mocking a new york times reporter<u+2019>s physical disability . the ad noted that, while trump said he didn<u+2019>t know the reporter personally, they actually had interacted with each other for years. (nov. 30, 2015) 4. after former florida gov. jeb bush finished a disappointing sixth in the iowa caucuses, the pro-bush right to rise super pac turned to attacking sen. marco rubio. the group released a scathing attack ad accusing rubio of charging over $30,000 of personal expenses on a republican party credit card. (1/26/16) 5. one of bernie sanders<u+2019> most successful ads during the cycle was not an attack ad, but rather a simple one-minute spot titled <u+201c>america,<u+201d> featuring scenes from the campaign trail over a soundtrack of the simon and garfunkel by the same name. the sanders<u+2019> campaign produced the ad a few weeks before the iowa caucuses, which clinton narrowly won. (1/21/16) 6. about a week before the iowa caucuses ted cruz<u+2019>s presidential campaign released an ad titled <u+201c>new york values.<u+201d> the target was donald trump and the ad featured clips of trump saying he lived in new york city all of his life so his values are <u+201c>a little bit different than if i lived in iowa<u+201d> and asking at a rally <u+201c>how stupid are the people of iowa.<u+201d> cruz won the iowa republican caucuses, narrowly beating trump and the rest of the field. 7. in early february, ted cruz<u+2019>s campaign released an ad featuring children playing with a trump action figure and ticking off facts, like he gave money to top new york democrats and would <u+201c>take your house with eminent domain and park my limos there.<u+201d> a voiceover then says <u+201c>we wouldn<u+2019>t tolerate these values in our children, why would we want them in a president?<u+201d> 8. a week ahead of the florida republican primary, trump<u+2019>s campaign released a new ad casting rubio as corrupt . it accused rubio of spending years <u+201c>defrauding the people of florida.<u+201d> trump went on to crush rubio in the florida senator<u+2019>s home state, winning 45 percent of the vote to rubio<u+2019>s 27 percent. (3/7/16) 9. bernie sanders campaign looked to shield himself from criticism on foreign policy and military experience by producing an ad featuring rep. tulsi gabbard , an army major, describing the seriousness of going into combat. at one point gabbard tears up in the video before highlighting that sanders <u+201c>voted against the iraq war.<u+201d> (3/24/16) 10. near the end of the republican primary, the pro-trump super pac rebuilding america now released an ad mixing clips of bill clinton denying that he lied during the lewinski scandal with ones of hillary clinton arguing that she has been completely forthright about her private email server. the ad, demonstrating trump<u+2019>s pivot to the general election, was part of a one of many republican efforts to paint clinton as a serial liar. (6/5/16) 11. just ahead of the republican national convention in cleveland, clinton<u+2019>s campaign released an ad called <u+201c>role models.<u+201d> the ad showed small children watching trump make some of his more controversial comments such as <u+201c>and you can tell them to go f*ck themselves<u+201d> and that he thought he saw blood coming out of megyn kelly<u+2019>s <u+201c>wherever.<u+201d> the ad asked if trump is the role model americans want for their children. (7/14/16) 12. one of the most successful ads in any 2016 senate race was missouri secretary of state jason kander<u+2019>s ad of him assembling a rifle blindfolded . kander, a captain in the army, says at the end of the ad, <u+201c>i<u+2019>d like to see sen. blunt do this<u+201d> as he finishes putting the rifle together. kander, once a longshot democratic candidate, is now regarded as one of the more competitive democrats running in a red state. (9/15/16) 13. looking to boost donald trump, the national rifle association released an ad featuring a woman reaching for her gun as someone breaks into her house. the voiceover in the ad warns <u+201c>don<u+2019>t let hillary leave you protected with nothing but a phone.<u+201d> the ad was one of the more highly touted ads the nra made in support of trump and attacking clinton. (9/20/16) 14. the clinton campaign in september took some of trump<u+2019>s more aggressive comments about women and played them over clips of girls looking in the mirror. the ad, titled <u+201c>mirrors<u+201d> featured trump saying <u+201c>a person who has a flat chest is very hard to be a 10.<u+201d> the ad ends with <u+201c>is this the president we want for our daughters?<u+201d> (9/23/16) 15. after trump said clinton doesn<u+2019>t have the <u+201c>stamina<u+201d> to be commander-in-chief his campaign turned that argument into an ad where the narrator says <u+201c> hillary clinton doesn<u+2019>t have the fortitude , strength or stamina<u+201d> while playing a clip of her collapsing while sick with pneumonia. (oct. 10, 2016) 16. in late october, clinton<u+2019>s campaign released an ad titled <u+201c>captain khan<u+201d> featuring the father of humayun khan , a deceased army captain, who was muslim and who died stopping a suicide bomber. in the ad, khan<u+2019>s father, khizr, asks while fighting back tears, <u+201c>would my son have a place in your america?<u+201d> (10/21/16) by michael grunwald by bill scher by thomas wright by joshua zeitz
2016 election: 16 ads that mattered - politico
daniel strauss michael grunwald