Candidate Films, Biographical

Candidate films are a form of political advertising that candidates use to present their biographies and issues to voters. These films, which usually run about 10 minutes, give campaigns the ability to flesh out who candidates are and what they stand for. Candidate films resemble short documentaries and are usually the [Page 84]longest piece of advertising that a campaign uses to present its candidate and policy positions to voters. This is an important component because the other options that candidates have to get their messages across—such as TV ad spots from campaigns and candidate coverage on TV news—have become ever shorter.

Candidate films tend to focus on personal and professional aspects of the candidate, including the values they learned from their parents, their relationship with their ...