While American politicians have always relied on advisors, the visibility of political consultants increased in the late 1960s, particularly as television became a crucial part of American politics. In The Selling of the President (1968), Joe McGinniss chronicled how Richard Nixon’s campaign staff promoted the Republican presidential candidate like a consumer product to appeal to voters.

By the late 1980s, political consultants became nearly as prominent as the candidates for whom they worked. Roger Ailes and Lee Atwater were successful in transforming the image of Republican nominee and Vice-President George Bush, helping him win the 1988 presidential election.

James Carville and others were credited with overcoming the controversies surrounding Democratic presidential candidate and Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton to win the 1992 presidential election. Their efforts were portrayed in the documentary film, The War Room (1993). Carville and his wife, Republican Party consultant Mary Matalin, co-authored a book, All’s Fair (1994), a memoir of their role in the campaign.

Consultants have also produced election controversies. After Republican nominee Christine Todd Whitman won the New Jersey gubernatorial election, Whitman’s strategist, Ed Rollins, said he paid African American clergymen to discourage black voters, likely supporters of incumbent Jim Florio, from going to the polls. Rollins later retracted his claim.

Hollywood has featured political consultants in movies of fictional campaigns. The Candidate (1972) and Bob Roberts (1992) were accounts of Senate contestants who lacked experience but whose appearance and charisma, combined with consultants’ packaging, charmed the electorate.