Donald Trump's ad analysed: Missteps, aesthetics, and the potential impact

​As the Republican candidate releases the first TV ad of his campaign, Sophie Morris analyses its make-up, from typically nonsensical policies to extreme use of creative licence. Its the type of farce that, bafflingly, seems to work

Donald Trump

The content

Trump's “Great Again” ad recaps existing messages and reinforces his rampant bigotry and xenophobia. Here we go again with his proposed ban on Muslims entering the US (there's no information on what's in store for American Muslims) and a plan to secure the country's southern borders by building an impenetrable wall across the US-Mexico frontier. Is Trump in cahoots with Arrested Development's George Bluth? (Incidentally, the Mexicans are going to pay for the wall.) Isis is a target – we see masked men, then a warship firing missiles – and many say Trump is playing right into their hands.

The plan, we're told, is to “quickly cut the head off Isis and take their oil”, as if the oil were really American oil all along, for America to steal back. The ad closes with Trump's reassuring promise to “make America great again”.

The aesthetics

The grainy footage of the Republican frontrunner's ad casts it in a Cold War-era shroud of intrigue and deception, which may be where we're headed if Trump has his way: trust no one! But wait, who's that dangerous-looking pair? Not the San Bernardino terror killers, but the couple we glimpse right before them. Why, it's those Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who may as well be terrorists given the jeopardy they're playing with their own country.

“The politicians can pretend it's something else,” intones a stern narrator over their image as it flips to one of the San Bernardino shooters. “But Donald Trump calls it radical Islamic terrorism. That's why he's calling for a temporary shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until we can figure out what's going on.” Righto.

Cost

According to Trump, his whole campaign is well “under budget”. He claimed to be $35m (£24m) in the black when he announced this advert, and also said he wasn't convinced he even needed to use television advertising. So why is he? “I don't want to take any chances.” The campaign, he says, will cost about $2m (£1.4m) a week when it airs in Iowa and New Hampshire in the run-up to their primary elections. This is a big layout compared to the £300,000 he spent on three radio spots in last autumn. But according to the New York Times, no airtime has yet been reserved.

Potential impact

And what if the ad never makes it on to television? Arguably, the impact will be similar. Airing this clip in Iowa and New Hampshire is preaching to the converted – he already has steady support in these states – and what's more, he's feeding them stale messages. (As a commentator from The Atlantic magazine has pointed out, new TV campaigns are typically created to appeal to and win over new audiences, not to draw old comrades into a clammy embrace.) But before you dismiss the ad as an own goal, look at the publicity Trump has generated just by giving us a sneak peak. His team wrote a press release around the film, then gave the Washington Post the first look. The Post, in turn, gave more than 1,000 words to analysis, with lots of input from the candidate himself. This spawned hundreds more reports around the globe – who can resist? – generating a tsunami of free coverage.

The competition

Trump's astonishing opinions and grisly gaffes win him headlines but he still has some Republican opponents to beat – and they are spending large sums on paid media, even though the rewards are unclear. According to NBC News, all the candidates for presidential nomination – Democrat, Republican and independent – spent close to $120m on TV advertising last year. While Trump, who spent a tiny part of this, is a frontrunner, the $41m spent by Jeb Bush (with another $19m to come) has bought him paltry figures in the polls.

Missteps

So why bother with the truth? The fact-checking website Politifact has said the Mexican border footage is actually from Morocco, and shows Moroccans trying to get into a Spanish enclave. “No shit,” responded Trump's campaign manager when tackled by NBC News. “It's not the Mexican border but that's what our country is going to look like.” If only in the wild imaginings of Donald J Trump.