In partnership with NBC
Smoking Man: Political Ads That Changed the Game
Produced by Matt Spolar
The spot stands as a forerunner to anti-establishment mood that dominates today’s politics as well as the effectiveness of the fast, low-cost speed of communications today. This series of mini documentaries on ads that changed the political landscape was created in partnership with NBC News.
Part of the Image Makers Series
Image Makers
From Lyndon Johnson's “Daisy” to Hillary Clinton's “It's 3 am,” Image Makers goes behind the scenes of some of our most historically influential political ads with the people who made them. This series of mini docs was created by Matthew Spolar in collaboration with NBC News.
More Like This
Why We Can't Have a Civil Conversation About Guns
In the 1980s, the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan and the shooting of his press secretary, Jim Brady, led to the Brady Bill. Decades later, are there lessons from that fight for the Parkland students?
The Outsider Republican (1964): Conventional Wisdom
Donald Trump's candidacy isn't the first time the Republican Party has been split by an outsider declaring war on the establishment elite.
Willie Horton: Ads That Changed the Game
The infamous Willie Horton ad placed a nail in the coffin of Michael Dukakis' 1988 presidential run.
Gerrymandering's Surprising History and Uncertain Future
Both political parties have always played the redistricting game. But some of today’s battles have roots in a civil rights case decided by the Supreme Court 30 years ago.