Television Advertising in Election Campaigns
Few topics have generated more interest recently than the widespread use of television ads in election campaigns. Commercials have become one of the dominant means of candidate communication in contemporary races. Citizens are bombarded with millions of dollars in spot ads during the political season. The 1990 elections alone generated $203 million in spending on ads, according to an estimate by a broadcasting group.1 In today's world, it is nearly impossible to imagine campaigns without political commercials. This research addresses two central questions about television advertisements. First, to what extent do spot ads have an impact on viewers? Much has been made about the ability of campaign commercials to alter public assessments, but as yet there have been few detailed historical studies of this subject.2 Aside from analyses of ad content, which have addressed changes since television spots initially appeared, not