Electronic storytelling in electoral politics: An anecdotal analysis of television advertising in the helms‐hunt senate race

Abstract

This essay examines the television advertising from the 1984 North Carolina senate race between Jesse Helms and James Hunt through Burke's representative anecdote. Following the metaphoric approach to anecdotal analysis, the authors review two groups of discourse in pursuit of their fundamental qualities. The evidence indicates that Helms’ use of the “Soap Opera” anecdote proved superior to Hunt's random, one‐shot, style of storytelling. This conclusion leads the authors to argue that thematic continuity is a fundamental ingredient of effective electronic storytelling.