Castellanos Reveals Secrets Behind Successful Campaign Ads

Alex Castellanos, media advisor to George W. Bush and consultant on five other political campaigns, explained some essential theories behind political advertising at Campbell University’s CUW service, Tuesday, March 1. Castellanos and media expert David Aikman are also the featured speakers at this week’s Lecture Symposium, sponsored by the Campbell University Department of Government, History, and Justice.
A Cuban immigrant and the son of former Coats, NC, physician, Dr. Juan Castellanos, Castellanos said he used some of the same principles to promote President Bush that he learned growing up in Coats.
“I tell anyone who comes to work for us that advertising is about building relationships,” said Castellanos, who is a partner in National Media Inc., in Alexandria, VA. “It’s not something you see, it’s something you feel.”
Comparing post 9-11 America to the principles discovered by famous Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov, Castellanos said the World Trade Center tragedy destroyed the security Americans had been “conditioned” to expect.
“That was our theory for this election,” he said. “The campaign was going to be about security and who could best provide that security for the American people.”
Castellanos’ agency produced ads portraying Bush opponent, Sen. John Kerry, as a “flip-flopper,” and played on his famous statement, “I voted for the $87 billion before I voted against it.” The ads were also geared to swing voters like women and Hispanics.
“Everybody knew who the president was,” said Castellanos. “He was set in cement. We knew that Bush would get 40 percent of the vote and that about 40 percent of the population was against him. We knew there was an uncertain percentage in the middle that we had to get in order to win the election.”
Perhaps Castellanos’ most famous ad for Bush depicted a pack of wolves in a forest stirring from its resting spot. “Weakness attracts those who are waiting to do America harm,” says an ominous voice. The message here is that a Kerry presidency would not be strong enough to protect the country.
“Any advertising is about story-telling,” said Castellanos. “It’s about people sitting around a campfire, only the campfire is electronic.”
Castellanos graduated from Coats High School and attended the University of North Carolina as a Morehead and National Merit scholar before going to work on Ronald Reagan’s 1976 presidential campaign. He has also worked on political campaigns for George H. Bush, Jesse Helms, Bob Dole, Fred Thompson, Jeb Bush, Strom Thurmond, and many nationally known political figures. “Fortune” magazine has called Castellanos a “new style media master.” He has lectured extensively from Harvard University to the U.S. Army Communications School.

Bulletin 0049-3/01/05