Ever wondered how to make a political ad?

Here’s how American Bridge does it

American Bridge continues its mission to reach women voters in battleground states, releasing ads in Arizona and Nevada this week.

This week, American Bridge released more ads in our paid media battleground states — starting new buys in Arizona and Nevada, and releasing additional ads in Pennsylvania and Georgia. In addition to these ads, which air on television and digital and are usually 30 or 60 seconds, we have digital-first content and radio ads as well.

Today, I want to walk you through how an ad gets made. Who are these people? And how do they end up in an ad for American Bridge supporting President Biden?

The style of ads we produce at American Bridge is called “testimonial” or “storyteller” ads. Our research has proven that hearing from people in their area — who are like their friends and neighbors — is both persuasive and mobilizing.

Sue, the storyteller in our newest ad in Tucson, Arizona, is a perfect example. Our team at American Bridge uses many different tactics to find storytellers in the areas our ads will run — people who have a compelling story to tell about how the Biden administration is lowering costs and getting the economy back on track.

One of the key ways we connect with people is through our partner organizations. We were introduced to Sue by Arizona Vets Forward — a voting advocacy group based in Arizona that equips and mobilizes veterans to defend the ideals of our democracy. Sue is a veteran, worked in mining for over 20 years, and describes herself as a lifelong Republican who idolizes John McCain. Immediately in our first conversation with Sue, we knew she was a great fit. She had an amazing story and spoke passionately about the work President Biden is doing and how it is helping the Tucson area and the country. We talked about American Bridge’s mission and the goals for these ads, and Sue enthusiastically agreed to help us out.

We then scheduled a time to film Sue at her home. We don’t write scripts — everything is in our storytellers' own words. Sue has a conversation on camera with our director about her life, her story, and the work of the Biden administration. Once that filming is completed, we film some “b-roll” — something the storyteller would normally do around their house or business. For Sue, that was walking her dog in her neighborhood and doing some work on her computer. We are always excited about our storyteller’s pets — Sue had two adorable dogs who were eager to be on camera.

Once we wrap filming, the footage is put together into an ad — usually a 30-second version for television and several shorter versions for digital ads. Before they are released, they are fact-checked by our vigorous research team (have you heard American Bridge researchers are really, really excellent?). The ads are placed on TV and digital platforms in the corresponding media market, and we work with our press and digital teams to distribute the ads through earned media and to our partner organizations.

Every ad comes together in a different way. Ultimately, we are proud of how we are able to elevate personal stories of women and small business owners across the country in support of President Biden’s agenda.

We hope you will subscribe and keep following along — we’re excited to continue sharing updates on our polling and paid media program as we approach the 2022 elections.