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

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television commercial A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

, 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 Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

. It featured a montage of images of

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going to work, and a calm,

optimistic Optimism is the attitude or mindset of expecting events to lead to particularly positive, favorable, desirable, and hopeful outcomes. A common idiom used to illustrate optimism versus pessimism is a glass filled with water to the halfway poin ...

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 ...

that suggested that the improvements to the U.S.

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

since the 1980 election were due to Reagan's policies. It also 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, 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.

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,

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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 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 has ...

'' 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 and

totalitarian Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public sph ...

Republic of Gilead—where women are required to act as sex slaves—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, lawyer, and diplomat serving since 2025 as the 72nd United States Secretary of State, United States secretary of state. A member of the Republican Party (United States) , Rep ...

and

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward 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 was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...

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

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. 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

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(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, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

's Democratic nomination acceptance speech, referencing

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

'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 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 quotations 1984 United States presidential election 1984 works American political catchphrases Films directed by Hal Riney Political campaign advertisements Ronald Reagan Optimism