| Bear in the Woods | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Hal Riney |
| Narrated by | Hal Riney |
Release date |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
"Bear", a television commercial known for and often referred to by its opening line "There is a bear in the woods", was created for the1984 U.S. presidential campaign ofRepublican Party candidateRonald Reagan. The commercial featured agrizzly bear wandering through a forest, accompanied by narration suggesting that the bear could be dangerous and that it would be wise to be prepared for that possibility. In the final scene, a man appears and the bear takes a step back. The ad ends with a picture of Reagan and the tagline: "President Reagan: Prepared for Peace."
Without directly mentioning opponentWalter Mondale,defense spending, or theSoviet Union (traditionallysymbolized by a bear), the ad suggested that Reagan was better prepared to recognize and deal with threats to global stability. Research by award-winning pollsterRichard Wirthlin detected the nation's overriding concern about the Soviet Union and how to communicate the solution through subtlety.
There is a bear in the woods. For some people, the bear is easy to see. Others don't see it at all. Some people say the bear is tame. Others say it's vicious and dangerous. Since no one can really be sure who's right, isn't it smart to be as strong as the bear? If there is a bear.
The advertisement was written and narrated byHal Riney, a prominent advertising executive known for his distinctively warm and authoritative voice. Riney also created and narratedRonald Reagan’s well-known "Morning in America" ad (titled "Prouder, Stronger, Better") and "America’s Back." His narration style, often described as rich and avuncular, was widely credited with evoking a sense of wholesomeness and authenticity, reinforcing the ad's emotional appeal and its message of national strength.[1]
Initialfocus group screenings of the advertisement demonstrated that the audience found its message ambiguous, with some interpreting it as an indictment ofenvironmentalism, others as a criticism ofgun control, but the underlying metaphor of "peace through strength" remained strong.[1] The advertisement itself had a very high recall rate amongst viewers, even those who were uncertain of its meaning.[2]
The ad won praise from the political and advertising world. Republican strategistDan 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."[3]
"There is a bear in the woods" continues to be a popular phrase to invoke when a potential problem looms on the horizon, especially in political circles. The ad was copied in the2004 presidential campaign of RepublicanGeorge W. Bush in an ad called "Wolves," which sought to draw parallels between terrorists andtimber wolves. However, that ad explicitly mentionedterrorism, opponentJohn Kerry,liberalism, intelligence spending, and "America's defenses." In September 2015, Republican presidential candidateTed Cruz created an ad titled "Scorpion" with an opening line, "There's a Scorpion in the desert". In the ad Cruz used the image of a scorpion to show the threatIslamic terrorism posed to the United States. This ad was instantly recognized as a copy or an homage to Reagan's.[4][5] Currently,The Washington Post's PowerPost email newsletter to subscribers, The Daily 202, often uses the phrase, "There still a bear in the woods," to introduce political topics.[6]
Wirthlin's work on the first Reagan campaign, and particularly this ad, earned him the title "Adman of the Year" byAdvertising Age and theWashington Post called Wirthlin the "Prince of Pollsters".
