Bernie Sanders Releases “Magnificent” Ad With Simon & Garfunkel Music In Iowa

Bernie Sanders is running the above one minute ad in Iowa featuring the Simon and Garfunkel song America with a montage of American images in the background. It has received quite a bit of media coverage (in contrast to his campaign to date). The Hill calls the ad “magnificent” and writes, “When you watch the ad, think about it. I bet you will watch it more than once, as I did, and while they will not admit it, the campaigns of other candidates will wish they had thought of it themselves.”

Bernie America Ad

The Atlantic writes:

First, the ad is extremely positive—it’s all smiling faces and happy children, hardworking farmers and cheering crowds. That matches with Sanders’s vow, mostly kept, to run a positive campaign. Second, the ad is heavily steeped in classic Americana. In particular, the ad leans on rural imagery, fitting with it primary audience Iowa and New Hampshire. The message might also blunt the attempt by some allies of Hillary Clinton to tar Sanders as a socialist. See, look? He’s as American as mom and apple pie.

The ad certainly presents a strong contrast to the negative smear campaign coming from the Clinton campaign since Hillary fell behind in the polls. Matters are getting even better for Sanders with the latest CNN poll showing Sanders eight points ahead of Clinton (leading 51 percent to 43 percent), with Clinton having led by eighteen points in their previous poll.