Traffic jam: 2012 presidential campaigns test drive car ads in search for voters

Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign has taken a cue from Detroit in trying to win over voters through the all-American love affair with the car.

Romney has released at least ten campaign videos that feature cars, including three that show the former Massachusetts governor behind the wheel.

{mosads}He’s not alone, either.

President Obama’s campaign showcased classic and modern cars in an ad last month that touted Obama’s support of the auto industry, one of the White House’s chief talking points for the president’s reelection.

“Made in America. For generations of Michigan autoworkers it’s more than a slogan; it’s a way of life,” says a voiceover in the ad, which was timed for the Michigan GOP primary.

The president was also seen at the annual Washington Auto Show earlier this year promoting American-made cars, where he got a personalized tour of new electric and hybrid models from Ford, Dodge and General Motors, according to pool reports.

Cars have always been used by politicians hoping to connect with U.S. voters because of the country’s love for the open road.

But in this year’s election, they are taking on an out-sized importance.

The images are “extremely timely” in this election cycle as candidates try to associate themselves with the resurgence of the U.S. auto industry, said Wendy Melillo, assistant professor in the School of Communications at American University and a longtime political advertising reporter.

“Each candidate wants to make an association with the successful comeback of Detroit and of the car industry,” said Melillo. “That is the underlining theme that’s prompting the trend you are seeing.”

Rising gas prices have provided another car-centered issue for the campaign trail. Republicans are playing up the rising prices to argue Obama’s energy policies are failing the country. They want drivers to think of Obama—in a negative way—every time they fill their tank.

Newt Gingrich released a video Wednesday of a campaign stop to a gas station in Alabama, where he highlighted his plans for lower gas prices, mocking Obama’s alternative energy initiatives in the process.

The advertising is important for several reasons for Romney, who has a solid lead in the GOP race for delegates and seems likely to be Obama’s opponent in the fall.

Romney is from Michigan, but opposed the auto bailout. He also has struggled to counter perceptions that he’s out of touch with working-class voters, and ads showing him behind the wheel ahead of Michigan’s primary last month were meant to humanize Romney and help him personally connect with voters.

“I remember going to the Detroit auto show with my dad. That was a big deal,” says Romney in one thirty-second spot. “Michigan has been my home and this is personal.”

Romney ended up narrowly defeating Rick Santorum in Michigan.

Ted Brader, author of “Campaigning for Hearts and Minds” and an associate professor of political science at the University of Michigan, suggested Romney’s ads could help him with voters.

“Cars are so central to the American way of life and to the American image, they just provide the ready vehicle for tapping into people’s experiences and their emotions,” said Brader.

But the effort also came with a downside. In the Michigan ad, Romney took heat after it emerged that he drove a 2012 Chrysler 300 sedan — a vehicle manufactured in Canada.

Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D), host of “The War Room” on Current TV, said it’s “hypocritical” for Romney to use automobile symbolism given his opposition to the bailout.

“I mean there’s no getting around it and I think it poses a big problem for him in the general election,” she said.

But Republican advertising specialist Brad Todd, who worked on Romney’s 2008 campaign but is unaffiliated in this election cycle, said there are reasons for Romney and other candidates to use cars to appeal to voters beyond Washington policy.

He said the most common reason cars are used in ads is to put the voter in a one-on-one conversation with the candidate.

“We have conversations with those we’re close to on the road. America is a car culture. And so it’s a good place to situate the voter,” said Todd.

Drivers in the United States spend around an hour a day in their cars,

according to the most recent data available from the National

Household Travel Survey.

“For a lot of people the car is an extension of who they are and it’s a reflection of their personality and priorities in their life at a given time,” said Todd.

However, he notes that a car alone does not a successful ad make.

“It’s only as effective as the conversation is authentic,” he said.