Michael Dukakis – Tank Man, 1988
You are falling behind in the 1988 polls to George Bush Senior, you need to turn public opinion on to your side, there is not long left, do you jump into a tank and ride around a field? If you are Michael Dukakis you certainly do. During the 1988 Presidential race, Dukakis sent out this bizarre advert that didn’t really catch on the way his campaign team had hoped for. In the end he looked like a boy, in a helmet too big for him on an ‘Tank Experience’ day his parents bought him for his 12th birthday.
Out of all the gaffes listed above, this was by far the most costly. Immediately, the Republicans used the advert against Dukakis and he comfortably lost the 1988 election to Bush. The advert above is that very advert used by the Republicans against the Dukakis campaign and it proved to be the final nail in the coffin for the Democrats that year.
Words by Daniel Parker