Prouder, Stronger, Better
President Reagan's evocative re-election campaign ads were created by the Tuesday Team, an all-star group of advertising executives including Hal Riney, Philip Dusenberry, and Jerry Della Femina. The Reagan campaign made it clear to the team that they wanted something more effective and memorable than the straightforward "hard sell" ads of the 1980 campaign. The result was an inspiring series of picturesque ads collectively known as "Morning in America." With brightly lit montages of idyllic scenes of suburban life and swelling music, the ads evoked a Norman Rockwell vision of the country, suggesting that President Reagan had restored American optimism. By asking, “Do we really want to go back to where we were four short years ago?" the ads also gently attacked the Democratic candidate, former Vice President Walter Mondale, by linking him to the Jimmy Carter presidency. The voice of Hal Riney, who narrates the ad, is familiar from many commercials, for cars, insurance companies, and other products. According to Dusenberry, when Reagan was introduced to the Tuesday Team, he said, "I understand you guys are selling soap. I thought you'd like to see the bar." The "Morning in America" ads were run in heavy saturation early in the year, during Reagan's uncontested primary run, to set the tone for the rest of the campaign.
Transcript
Museum of the Moving Image
The Living Room Candidate
"Prouder, Stronger, Better," Reagan, 1984
MALE NARRATOR: It's morning again in America. Today, more men and women will go to work than ever before in our country's history. With interest rates at about half the record highs of 1980, nearly 2,000 families today will buy new homes, more than at any time in the past four years. This afternoon, 6,500 young men and women will be married. And with inflation at less than half of what it was just four years ago, they can look forward with confidence to the future. It's morning again in America. And, under the leadership of President Reagan, our country is prouder and stronger and better. Why would we ever want to return to where we were less than four short years ago?
[TEXT: PRESIDENT REAGAN]
