One of the important factors that lead to FDR's victory in the 1933 presidential contest was his ability to effectively harness the new medium of radio - in a similar vein, Barack Obama skillfully used social media to achieve his desired end in the 2008 election. Joe McGinnis' book, The Selling of the President chronicled the unique approach Team Nixon applied to the use of television advertising as they promoted their candidate during the course of the 1968 election:
"Roger Ailes, one of the key men in the Nixon ad campaign, perhaps sums up the thesis of the book: 'This is the beginning of a whole new process. This is the way [presidents] will be elected forevermore. The next guys up will have to be performers... The interesting question is, how sincere is a television set? If you take a cold guy and stage him warm, can you get away with it?'"
The book was so widely adored that it was soon adapted as a stage musical.
Click here to see an anti-Nixon cartoon from 1961
Click here to read more about the history of advertising.
