Narration is used only twice in the ad. The first use is the first 14 seconds of the ad and the last instance is the remaining 16 seconds. The voice is quiet and calm to give you the feeling that you are right there with President Nixon and are truly getting an inside perspective into his life.
There are three songs used in the ad. The first song is the Happy Birthday. The next song is the traditional wedding son. The final song is played while Nixon dances with his daughter and then his wife at the wedding reception. The Happy Birthday song is played on the piano by Nixon while the crowd sings happy birthday to Duke Ellington. It is a song that is instantly recognizable by the majority of people who would see the ad. The traditional wedding song is equally ubiquitous. Its placement is different as well. You actually hear the music of the wedding song 2 seconds before any scenes of the wedding appear in the ad. They prime with audience by playing the song in that manner. Every song is accompanied with smiling faces. This plays on the intimate perspective afforded by the ad.
This ad makes distinct use of color. Many of the shots chosen have light backgrounds that contrast with President Nixon wearing dark or black clothing. It emphasizes Nixon’s presence undeniably making him the focus of your attention in the ad. At 0:08, Nixon is wearing a dark suit and in the background is the white and red of the American flag and the tan/ light brown of the curtain. At 0:12, the white walls of the White House’s oval office highlight Nixon similarly to the shot before it. At 0:29, Nixon is wearing a black tuxedo and the background and lighting are bright, with gold and brown curtains and white walls. When Nixon begins to play the piano at 1:15, the frame closes in and you see the black silhouettes of the crowd creating a contrast of dark figures that makes Nixon’s face stand out even more. In the wedding shot as Nixon walks his daughter up the aisle, at 2:02, his clothing is black which pops in contrast to the white of his daughter’s wedding dress, the white carpet, the flowers and their stand as well. There is also the dress of the bridesmaid which may or may not actually be white which adds even more to Nixon standing out.
When we take a look at the positioning of Nixon throughout the ad, we see that he is almost always in the center of every shot. Beginning at 2:02 when President Nixon is walking his daughter down the aisle to get married, tradition tells us that it is “her day”. Looking at the positioning of the footage, Nixon takes up most of the center of the shot. Even when the shot turns to a behind the back shot, Nixon never leaves that crucial focal space. As the scene fades into the next shot, the first face that we see is Nixon once again. The shot is positioned as one of the bridesmaids and we are looking at almost shoulder level. Nixon seems taller and dominant due to the eye level of the shot.
The narrator sets up the ad by saying that you will get a rare glimpse of President Nixon which establishes him as the focal point. During playing of the Happy Birthday song for Duke Ellington, Duke is barely present except for brief moments during the beginning and end of the scene. Nixon’s clothing combined with the white background further establishes that by making him stand out.
Nixon the Man: http://209.81.85.164/commercials/1972