You’re watching TV with your family when a presidential election commercial comes on slamming one of the presidential candidates. Do you listen and put value into what is being said or ignore it and go make some microwave popcorn? TV ads have been an effective way of reaching large audiences for years, especially during political campaigns. Is advertising still an effective campaign strategy, or does advertising in presidential elections matter?

Research on political advertising

A 2016 study on effects of positive and negative advertising during political campaigns found that positive ads can help a candidate, but negative attack ads can hurt the candidate sponsoring the ad. An additional study on political advertising and election outcomes found that advertising does not affect voter turnout, but can affect a candidate’s total votes.

Financial impact

TV advertising spending was expected to reach $4.4 billion this year, far surpassing the 2012 election. However, recent data indicates that spending on presidential ads has dropped 60% since the 2012 election. Although this presidential race has increased network ratings, they have not seen the expected revenue from advertising sales. During a July interview,  Donald Trump mentioned that he didn’t want to spend money too early on advertising, so networks are still hopeful that the TV ads will pick up.

Possible reasons for the decrease

Social media was certainly a buzz word during the 2012 campaign, but not like it is today. With tweets, Facebook posts or Reddit forums, candidates have several other options of reaching out to potential voters. TV or radio isn’t necessarily the best option to reach voters today, especially the growing number of voters that pay more attention to their phones than they do a TV.

Does advertising still matter in political campaigns? Yes, but research indicates that positive advertising is more effective and in today’s world, the advertising outlet must be considered to reach large numbers. Presidential candidates need to think outside of the box to speak and find new ways to inform and influence voters.