POLITICAL ADVERTISING

Comm 440, Spring 2013

Two key points about political advertising noted well by McNair are a) it is not new, and b) the
negativity of political advertising goes back as far as the origins of campaigning. None of this
justifies the lack of progress in making political communication more ethical, of course.

The basic, most fundamental rule of effective campaign communication is: Do and say what most
enhances voter perceptions of you. The general image of a candidate described by journalists and
reflected in public opinion poll totals or aggregate figures, present parts of the public images of
candidates. Image politics is campaigning that orients are words and actions toward creating more
favorable perceptions of candidates and minimizing negative ones. It also employs the persuasion
technique of highlighting ones favorable traits and downplaying those of the opponent and doing
the opposite with weaknesses:

We can see signs of this in the election of 1824 but it became more obvious in the 1840 election.
William Henry Harrison was hardly a frontiersman or war hero but he was made out to look like
one with the tales about how he fought the Shawnees at Tippecanoe. What we call the public image
is the public impression of the candidate in an average sense -- what most people appear to be
characterizing the president as. Public images have some constant factors and other factors which
change. Issues have less importance than personality factors in creating these public images. Some
political communication scholars, including myself, believe this is due to the fact that news
coverage of candidates is tilted much more toward personality than toward issue positions.

Candidate images are the intersection of campaign messages and voter perceptions. Voters are
informed by many sources, but eventually they define candidates and campaigns for
themselves. One key factor affecting images are historical circumstances. In 1932, the Great
Depression assured FDRs appeals for change, the Vietnam War helped Richard Nixon in 1968,
Watergate helped Carter in 1976, and good economic conditions helped Clinton in 1996. The
Persian Gulf War did not help George Bush in 1992. Why? Some research indicates that we
compare our images of opponents or contenders with ideal president images. Researchers have
described what they believe are the traits that most American voters would like to have in a
president. For many decades, it was thought that candidates are compared cognitively along a
standard set of criteria such as source credibility items. New studies, however, appear to have
refuted this assumption which is known as the unitary decision-making.

Communication technologies are making campaign persuasion easier. The national highway
system doing East to West did not even reach Ohio until 1817. The first whirlwind railroad
campaign occurred in 1896 when William Jennings Bryan gave 600 speeches in 21 states. Why did
Bryan not win if he had this technology and is also know as being one of Americas best
orators? Before 1835 and 1844, campaign communication speed was limited by transportation
(horses, boats, trains). With the invention of the telegraph, electronic telecommunication made it
possible for electrically coded messages to travel faster than means of transportation.
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In the early campaign technology period, travel and transportation dictated the speed of
campaigning. All of that changed with the invention of the telegraph in 1844. Radio also had a
dramatic effect on campaigning. Some of this was due to the use of radio by presidents. In 1921,
President Warren Harding spoke with citizens over radio and began the famous tradition of
presidential radio addresesses. Radio made travel less necessary for campaigning and candidate
surfacing. FDR made radio even more important with his well-known fireside chats. Television
also affected campaign communication dramatically. In 1968, Richard Nixon became the first
candidate to orient an entire campaign around television.

Computers have added to the effects created by television and are adding some that are not yet
understood by candidate, consultants, or scholars. The known effects of the Internet on political
communication at this point are increased posting of information making documents and essays
and photos easier to access, quicker access to government and other political sites, and faster
opportunities for organization efforts by all political causes.

It is striking to see that there is more relative issue content in political advertising than in news.
Kaid notes that advertising has more issue than candidate trait content. This does not mean that
there detailed policy position content in the advertising.

While we dont like negative advertising, negative ads contain more issue content than does
positive advertising. why does exposure to ads like the Willy Horton ad activate racial attitudes and
prejudice.
Campaigning in the U.S. has always involved personal attacks and attacks on issue positions. In
1800, for example, Republicans (anti-federalists) charged John Adams with being a monarchist and
a traitor. Federalists accused Jefferson of being a an atheist and swindler. The discourse then was
less civil than the claptrap we see today.
While we treat advertising, debates, and speeches as separate causes of voter perceptions, Perloff
reminds us that they intersect.In other words, voters bring together cognitively information
brought in from many sources in ways they cannot explain.
Seven types of media have specific advertising functions:

1. DISPLAY GRAPHICS - reinforces name recognition, reinforce campaign themes, enhance

spirit of supporters, attemps at bandwagon effects.
o Bandwagon effect can be enhanced by large and sudden appearances of signs.
2. DIRECT MAIL -- Like telephone, this is very targeted.
o high interest with low backlash.
o extended messages.
o more money spent here than on other media.
3. TELEPHONE -- persuasive message and fundraising.
o Also good for get out the vote efforts.

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predictive dialing systems.

PRINT ADVERTISING -- More information can be presented than in TV and radio.
o Audience targeting can be done well.
RADIO -- Good audience reach since individuals and families have multiple radios.
o good targeting but not as targeted as direct mail.
o 10-second spots can build name recognition while 5-minute ones can offer
candidates doing detailed analysis.
o possible drawback of unfocused attention.
TELEVISION -- only medium to continuously combine sight and hearing stimulation.
o advertisers try to place spots on shows that attract viewers with high political
interest.
o disadvantages of costs.
VCR and CATV -- customized tapes are now cheap.
o response rates are 20% higher than direct mail.
INTERNET -- low cost and high-return mechanism for disseminating information.
o All major candidates have sites.
o All major new organizations have sites.
o

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As far back as 1896, commercial marketing techniques were imported into political persuasion.
o

Why did Reagan say to practitioners "I thought you might like to meet the bar of soap?"

We do not know how voters sort out information from various sources like ads, debates, etc.
Political advertising helps voters learn issue positions and more about candidates traits.
o
o
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Ads can also link emotional responses to candidates.

TV spots in campaigns began in 1952. Eisenhower ran 40 spots while his opponent Stevenson ran
none. In 1956, Stevenson decided to run spots against incumbent Eisenhower.
TV spots have always presented visual argumentation. The best known negative TV spot is the
"Daisy Girl" ad in the 1964 presidential campaign. Earlier concept ads before 1976 were
supplemented by personal witness ads.

Techniques that work in commercial advertising are imported into political advertising:
o
o
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feelings and experiences evoked.

visual and aural effects used heavily.
candidates paired with affect-laden symbols.

While political advertising can have significant campaign and political effects, we have to
remember that that strong controlling effects are not what is found in communication research.
Advertising works within contexts of other influential messages.

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