Televised Political Advertisements

The first political television advertisement was run by Senator Benton of Connecticut in 1950. The first presidential TV spots were broadcast two years later, when Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated Democrat Adlai Stevenson. These messages have become an extremely important means of communication with voters, particularly for higher-level offices. Billions of dollars are spent on political advertising in America. Obama became the first candidate ever to decline federal funding for the general election campaign, which meant he could spend all he could raise; McCain accepted federal funding, which imposed limits on his spending. Television spots are important for several reasons. The candidate has complete control over the content of these messages; the news selects and often interprets information from candidates. Unlike ads, debates include opponents and candidates may face questions they would rather avoid. TV spots also allow targeting of messages by selecting which markets ads are broadcast in and which programs they are broadcast on. In presidential campaigns this is extremely important because candidates in recent campaigns focus advertising on the states which are “in play” (“battleground states”), states with electoral votes that could be won by either candidate. Although it is increasingly easy for citizens with little interest in the campaign to avoid exposure to political advertising (DVDs, the Internet, and most of cable and satellite TV, for example, do not include such messages), TV spots have the greatest chance of reaching voters who do not seek out information on the campaign. Furthermore, with today’s constantly increasing population, candidates running for offices such as senator and governor—and, in the early 21st century, increasingly for lower offices as well—cannot hope to reach a large proportion of constituents without using TV spots. Political groups, such as PACs (Political Action Committees) or 527s (named after a provision of a campaign finance law) also broadcast political advertisements in the United States. Although some countries have laws regulating the use of political television advertising, this message form is also becoming important in other countries besides the United States. Finally, as we will see below, there is no question that televised political advertising has effects on viewers.