• by Philip Rosenstein , Staff Writer, June 28, 2016

Both the Trump and Clinton camps have released ads exemplifying tactics each will use as we approach the general election on November 8.

Last week, Hillary Clinton’s campaign released an ad titled “Who We Are,” focusing on the Democratic values she will represent as the party’s nominee, as well as the rhetoric she stands against.

The ad includes clips from Trump speeches, where he says: “Knock the crap out of him would you, seriously” and “I don’t know what I said, ahh, I don’t remember,” while seemingly imitating a disabled journalist.

The Clinton campaign will have to fight hard to counter the continuous attacks pinning her as a Washington insider and quintessential establishment politician. Still, she has ample ammo to attack Trump, given the numerous eruptions that plagued his primary.

Her “Who We Are” ad presents the values, propositions and tone Clinton represents: “Do we stand together? I know what I believe, it’s wrong to pit people against each other. We’ve had enough partisan division and gridlock already. It’s time to unite behind some simple and common goals.”

The ad performed well among Democrats, particularly in the millennial demographic. According to Ace Metrix, the ad garnered the highest overall score of any presidential ad among Democratic voters, surpassing Bernie Sanders' ads, which scored particularly high during the primaries.

The impact score was the highest among liberal voters, while millennial voters scored the ad above average on all qualitative measures.

The Trump super PAC ad, from Great America PAC, new last week, features a former navy seal, Carl Higbie, who pledges support for Donald Trump and his vague foreign policy prescriptions.

“The Enemy” heightens the fear factor by using the Orlando tragedy to display that “the battlefield is moving here to our shores and our communities.” The ad is evidence of the tone Trump wants to inject in the 2016 presidential campaign: fear.

Pointing directly at issues Trump will focus on as the general election nears, the ad continues: “But this enemy won’t be defeated by taking away our guns, or by weak leaders in denial [cue photo of President Obama] … This enemy will only be defeated by strong leadership. By a commander in chief who understands this threat and is willing to make tough choices to protect America.”

“The Enemy” scored the highest overall marks of the year among voters who are mostly or always Republican, and it was the most impactful Republican ad of 2016. Interestingly, it also obtained the highest relevance score among Independent voters in 2016, when it comes to super PAC ads.

Compassion and fear, two very different emotions, will remain at the center of the race to the White House.