Scandal's Ad Campaign is not so Fictional

The show Scandal, which follows the lives of the crisis management firm, provides an effective campaign advertisement, despite the show being fiction.

In the first season of the series, they show how Olivia Pope, the main character and head of the firm, help the president to be elected into his first term. During the election, he is behind in the polls, and nobody on his campaign team can figure out how to boost his polls. Pope, who always has new and radical ideas, decides that he needs to be seen as more intimate with his wife, so that people will be able to relate to him more. She says that in a recent interview they sat on opposite sides of  the couch, and that they needed to act like they were more in love.

Following Pope’s advice, the Fitzgerald Grant is elected president. His campaign ad is effective in using pathos to show his values of marriage. He wins the presidency because of his ability to pretend that he is in love with his wife, which appeals to the voters emotions. 

 Despite Scandal being a fiction television series, President Grant does make an effective campaign ad. People want to be similar and relatable to the person they are voting for. Overall, the episode shows how Grant is able to win the presidency by appealing to pathos.