Election Ad Spending in Ohio and Elsewhere
I know that there are some of you in this community who live in Ohio. So what's it like having a steady diet of election ads on all of your tv and radio stations? Now that the debates are over, the candidates main contact with large amounts of voters will be through ads and there's going to be a lot of them, especially in Ohio. According to Wells Fargo Securities, two of the Ohio’s television markets rank in the top 10 of political spending. Cleveland ranks No. 2 and Columbus ranks No. 9. Cleveland is the 18th largest media market in the country while Columbus is 34th. Since the start of October, campaigns and outside groups have spent more than $6 million in Columbus and $16 million in Cleveland on local broadcast advertising.
President Barack Obama has dominated the Ohio airwaves. His campaign has spent more than twice the amount as Romney across the county during most of September, although Romney was helped by large ad buys from conservative groups. Obama also received support from the progressive Priorities USA. In Ohio, the president and his supporters bought more than 800 spots in both the Cleveland and Columbus markets during those September weeks, according to the Wesleyan analysis. Since the start of October, Obama’s campaign has spent more than $2.5 million on political ads at Columbus’s four main broadcast stations. During this time Romney spent less than $1 million, but conservative groups American Crossroads and Restore Our Future also made $800,000 in ad buys.
In Cleveland, Obama spent more than $4.3 million since the start of October, about a million more than his Republican challenger. Conservative private groups in this market, including American Crossroads, Restore Our Future and the Republican Jewish Coalition, have spent $1.8 million in that time.
The tenor of the ads this year also has tended to be more negative than in previous presidential cycles, according to a Wesleyan University study. The study found that more than 60 percent of the presidential ads were attack ads that appealed to anger, fear and even sadness more than enthusiasm and pride.
William Benoit, professor of communication studies at Ohio University, said most viewers are probably sick of the commercials, but some people likely haven’t seen them yet. It is unlikely that running too many ads, even negative ones, would hurt a campaign. “I don’t think running 20 negative ads hurts you anymore than running five negative ads,” he said. “You’re hoping to reach someone who hasn’t seen it before.”
Below is a breakdown of last week's spending, according to CNN, in nine swing states:
I'll leave you with a couple of thirty second ads from each campaign in case you're not getting enough ads:
If you live in a swing state, expect to hear a lot of commercials with eerie music over the next two weeks.
President Barack Obama has dominated the Ohio airwaves. His campaign has spent more than twice the amount as Romney across the county during most of September, although Romney was helped by large ad buys from conservative groups. Obama also received support from the progressive Priorities USA. In Ohio, the president and his supporters bought more than 800 spots in both the Cleveland and Columbus markets during those September weeks, according to the Wesleyan analysis. Since the start of October, Obama’s campaign has spent more than $2.5 million on political ads at Columbus’s four main broadcast stations. During this time Romney spent less than $1 million, but conservative groups American Crossroads and Restore Our Future also made $800,000 in ad buys.
In Cleveland, Obama spent more than $4.3 million since the start of October, about a million more than his Republican challenger. Conservative private groups in this market, including American Crossroads, Restore Our Future and the Republican Jewish Coalition, have spent $1.8 million in that time.
The tenor of the ads this year also has tended to be more negative than in previous presidential cycles, according to a Wesleyan University study. The study found that more than 60 percent of the presidential ads were attack ads that appealed to anger, fear and even sadness more than enthusiasm and pride.
William Benoit, professor of communication studies at Ohio University, said most viewers are probably sick of the commercials, but some people likely haven’t seen them yet. It is unlikely that running too many ads, even negative ones, would hurt a campaign. “I don’t think running 20 negative ads hurts you anymore than running five negative ads,” he said. “You’re hoping to reach someone who hasn’t seen it before.”
Below is a breakdown of last week's spending, according to CNN, in nine swing states:
I'll leave you with a couple of thirty second ads from each campaign in case you're not getting enough ads:
If you live in a swing state, expect to hear a lot of commercials with eerie music over the next two weeks.