Ad Watch - Mitt Romney - “Our Home”

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is currently campaigning for the Republican presidential nomination for 2008. A Republican governor from a traditionally Democratic state, Romney is sometimes criticized for not being conservative enough. One of his ads, titled “Our Home” invites his audience into the “private” realm of his home, to give potential voters a picture of Romney’s character, however choreographed and storyboarded that picture may be. What do viewers gain from watching character ads? Do they help us understand the candidates? Are these ads even ethical?
 

The ad opens with a lo-resolution, hand-held camera shot of Ann Romney in her home with a Christmas tree in the background. The audio component is Ann’s voice, and there is a track of guitars and violins under her narration. The ad cuts immediately to a shot of Mitt Romney from below, tossing a grandchild into the air, the rough-hewn log beams of the house filling the rest of the frame. The next shot is of a child riding what appears to be a mattress down the stairs, communicating the happy chaos of a full house. The next shot is of Ann again, with family members in the background in what appears to be the kitchen. Mitt then gives a child a high five, followed by a wide shot of the living room, packed with Romney kids and grandkids. We then see Mitt in the snow, tackled by a grandchild, showing that though he may be a grandfather, he is vigorous enough to actively play with his grandchildren. We then see him holding a baby, silhouetted against the bright light of the window, an image with overtones of the future of the country, and the future generations of Americans than may be led by the next president. Within the first ten seconds of the ad, the viewer is given a series of impressions about the size, demeanor and energy of the Romney family. We then hear the voice of Ann say, “Mitt says his greatest success is being able to say ‘I have been a good father and a good husband.” The words “good father and good husband” are played over a scene of Mitt in the kitchen, rinsing dishes alongside one of his sons. The claim here is that Mitt is the kind of husband and father who does the dishes, and we can only take his word for it, as this is a difficult claim to independently corroborate. Romney’s campaign touts his experience as a businessman, the savior of the Olympics, and the governor of Massachusetts, so this ad gives a softer, more intimate portrait of the candidate. Never mentioned in this ad are specific positions on issues, or his party affiliation. The voice of Ann continues: “Sometimes I’d be home with those five boys, and it was rough. He’d call home and remind me that what I was doing was much more important than what he was doing.” We see a shot of Mitt and Ann on the couch, with Mitt holding a notepad and pencil, Ann at his side. The visuals then change to old movies, with a shot of a boy on a bike, and then Ann being embraced by one of her sons. We are then back in the Romney living room of the present day. Ann says, “Mitt says there’s no work more important than what goes on within the four walls of the American home. And that’s the way it was in our home.” We see another old movie shot of Mitt surrounded by kids, both male and female, so they are not all his children. It then cuts back to the living room, where one of Mitt’s grandchildren gives him a hug. We hear “I’m Ann Romney,” and then, “I’m Mitt Romney and I approved this message.”

The character of political figures has lately been a matter of public scrutiny. Political ads are one way that candidates can convey messages about their character through strictly packaged narratives and visual elements. This ad is obviously aimed at women voters, demonstrating that Romney values the work of women in the home. Women voters are an important target for any presidential hopeful for 2008. 65 percent of women voted in the 2004 presidential election, compared with 62 percent of men. The ad functions as a representation of Romney’s commitment to the traditional conservative platform of “family values.” Romney is sometimes criticized as being too liberal (from the point of view of conservatives) in his position as Governor of Massachusetts. The content of this ad is not expressly political, except insofar as it attempts to give the audience a softer, more personal view of Romney in his role as father and husband, so that they might extrapolate these characteristics of Romney-as-private-figure, and imagine that Romney-as-president would bring the same values to his role as the leader of the country. It also speaks, however obliquely, to the issues women traditionally rank high on their lists of important issues: health care, education, their children, jobs and the economy.

Another important issue for women is abortion, and Romney’s record on abortion is mixed. As Governor of Massachusetts, Romney publicly disapproved of abortion, but committed to upholding the law as Governor . In his current platform, he advocates the overturning of Roe vs. Wade and supports a Federal Marriage Amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman. In campaign literature he writes that he will promote a “culture of life,” invoking a well used phrase of the religious right.

Advertisements can be evaluated as to whether or not they are ethical using the TARES test. If the message is true, if the persuader is authentic, if the ad demonstrates respect for the audience, if the appeal is equitable, and if the ad is socially responsible, then we can consider it to be ethical. The hardest element of the TARES test for this political ad to pass is that of truthfulness. Because this message is so calculated, and the narrative of Romney’s family is so deliberate, it is impossible to tell if there is real truthful content. While we can reasonably conclude this ad to be a representation of Romney’s commitment to the ideals of family values, we should be resistant to accepting this ad as an authentic representation of Romney’s character or actions as a husband. If Romney, and his fellow candidates, persist in running ads that deal with their own character, then it should be the responsibility of journalists to critically evaluate the claims made in these ads. As Lee Wilkins writes, in the case of political figures, “private behaviors need to be linked to public, political acts in significant ways.” Journalists should be deliberate about the ways they cover the character of politicians, making sure that what they write is relevant to the policy decision-making of the individual. As we evaluate candidates for leadership, considering character in its historical and political context can be an important tool in our decision making process. When candidates bring character into the debate, it is imperative we have access to the multiple narratives about the content of their character, and that we don’t simply take their word for it.

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