"Prouder, Stronger, Better", commonly referred to by the name "Morning in America", is a 1984

political campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracy, democracies, political campaigns often refer to election, electoral campaigns, by which representatives a ...

television commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

, known for its opening line, "It's morning again in America." The ad was part of that year's presidential campaign of Republican Party candidate Ronald Reagan. It featured a montage of images of

Americans Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ameri ...

going to work, and a calm,

optimistic Optimism is an attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcome of some specific endeavor, or outcomes in general, will be positive, favorable, and desirable. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass filled w ...

narration Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the a ...

that suggested that the improvements to the U.S.

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the p ...

since the 1980 election were due to Reagan's policies. It asked voters why they would want to return to the pre-Reagan policies of Democrats. The phrase "It's morning again in America" is used both as a literal statement (people are shown going to work as they would in the morning), and as a metaphor for renewal.

Details

Full text of the ad: The ad was written and narrated by ad man

Hal Riney Hal Patrick Riney (July 17, 1932 – March 24, 2008) was an American advertising executive. Biography Founder of the advertising agency Hal Riney & Partners (now Publicis & Hal Riney), Riney was named #30 on the ''Advertising Age'' 100 people o ...

, who also wrote and narrated Reagan's resonant " Bear in the woods" ad (titled "Bear") as well as his "America's Back" ad. To many, his rich, avuncular voice represented wholesomeness and authenticity. Bernie Vangrin of Hal Riney & Partners was the Art Director of the ad, which was directed and filmed by John Pytka of Levine/Pytka Productions.

Locations

"Morning In America" was filmed in

Petaluma, California Petaluma (Miwok: ''Péta Lúuma'') is a city in Sonoma County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census. Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village na ...

Resonance

This advertisement won industry awards and praise from the political and advertising world. Republican strategist Dan Schnur said of Riney's work: "Most political advertising hits viewers over the head, while his work makes just as strong a point but in a less confrontational and a more soothing manner."

Adaptations and references

During

Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television series ...

aired a trailer for the third season of ''

The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which h ...

'' that was inspired by "Morning in America". It used similar narration to the original commercial (with a particular focus on women and their newborn children), but is interrupted by scenes of the series'

dystopian A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493) ...

and

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regul ...

Republic of Gilead—where women are required to act as

sex slave Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership right over one or more people with the intent of coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in sexual activities. This includes forced labor, reducing a person to a ...

s—and concluding with lead character June Osbourne / Offred stating "Wake up America, morning's over."

2016 Presidential Election

During the 2016 presidential primaries, Republican Party candidates

Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio (born May 28, 1971) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the senior United States senator from Florida, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served as Speaker of the Florida Hous ...

and

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas fro ...

both referenced "morning in America" rhetoric in attempts to reflect the politics and spirit of Reagan. Rubio's "Morning Again in America" television ad, which features montage footage of everyday American life in both cities and suburbs, drew widespread criticism for opening with a shot of

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

, Canada. Ted Cruz used variations of the phrase throughout his campaign, often at concluding or climactic points in his speeches. After winning the Republican caucus in Iowa on February 1, 2016, Cruz said: "Tonight Iowa has proclaimed to the world: morning is coming." Cruz used the phrase again in a speech in South Carolina as he competed with Rubio for second place in the state's Republican primary election on February 20: "We can bring back morning in America", he declared. Years earlier, Cruz had used a similar line when he spoke at the 2014

Conservative Political Action Conference The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC; ) is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States and beyond. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU). ...

(CPAC): "We will bring back morning in America. That's why we're here and that's the future for the young and everybody else in this country." In

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States senat ...

's Democratic nomination acceptance speech, referencing

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

’s acceptance speech the previous week, she said: "He's taken the Republican Party a long way from 'Morning in America' to 'Midnight in America.' He wants us to fear the future and fear each other."

2020 Presidential Election

During the 2020 presidential campaign,

The Lincoln Project The Lincoln Project is an American political action committee (PAC) formed in late 2019 by former and current moderate Republicans. During the 2020 presidential election, it aimed to prevent the re-election of Donald Trump and defeat all Re ...

released the ad "Mourning in America" with themes related to deaths from COVID-19 and the debatable inaction of Pres.

; versions featuring specific states were released as "Mourning in Iowa", "Mourning in Florida", "Mourning in Pennsylvania" and "Mourning in Ohio", as well as a version called "Mourning in Republican Party" that laments the party's change of direction.

References

External links

Morning in America
�� video of the original advertisement on YouTube
CNN AllPolitics Ad Archive
— archive of political ads, including "Bear in the Woods" and "Morning in America"
"Creating Reagan's image"
— the story of how Hal Riney developed the ad campaign
"Morning in America: The Reagan Election"
— background of 1984 election

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20051218052418/http://www.adage.com/century/campaigns.html Ad Age: "Top 100 Advertising Campaigns"— "Morning in America" is 43.
''USA Today'': "Voters in Ohio give political ads a thumbs down"
uses "Prouder, Stronger, Better" as an expert's example of an ad that strikes a compelling theme.

cites "Bear" and "Prouder, Stronger, Better" as examples of effective and significant ads in contrast to recent ads.
ReaganKnight blog
includes compilation of links to 1984 'Morning in America' videos.

Advocates "Morning in America" type ads for Democrats in 2008.
The Living Room Candidate - Commercials - 1984 - TrainThe Daily Beast: "Hulu’s ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ Super Bowl Commercial Screams ‘Wake Up America’"
{{Authority control 1980s television commercials 1984 in American television 1984 neologisms 1984 United States presidential election 1984 works American political catchphrases Films directed by Hal Riney Political campaign advertisements Ronald Reagan