Political Advertising

Content Area Vocabulary

 Testimonial

a written statement or letter affirming the

character or value of a person or thing.
 Media

any one of the means of mass

communication, such as
television, radio, newspapers, or the like.
 Mudslinging

attempting to soil the reputation of an

opponent by hurling malicious charges and
accusations, especially in a political contest.
 Endorsement

a statement given in support of a person or

product, as in an advertisement or political
campaign.
 Bandwagon

an increasingly popular or successful

party, candidate, movement, or cause
 Medium

Plural--newspapers, television, radio, and other

means of mass communication collectively.
 Security

freedom from doubt or anxiety.

 Slogan

a short phrase used to summarize a principle or

political message or to advertise a product;
motto.
 Media Bias
Candidates generally receive negative coverage
although Democrats do tend to receive more
positive coverage than Republicans.

International news coverage is limited in context

and is often only about stories that are relevant to
US economic, political, and military interests.

Mitt Romney has received overwhelmingly

negative coverage during the 2012 primary
campaign.
 Effects of Negative Advertising
Negative political advertising can have a
backlash effect, causing voters to negatively
evaluate the sponsoring candidate.
Use of negative political advertising has
increased over time.
Challengers use more negative ads than
incumbents.
 Issue Advertising
Advertisements to persuade people to change
their opinions or behavior rather than to sell
them something:

Issue advertising has increased since 1952

 Presidential Campaign Spending
Source: Mother Jones
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/02/historic-price-cost-presidential-elections

Barack Obama spent $730 million getting to the White House in 2008—twice as much
as George W. Bush spent 4 years earlier and more than 260 times what Abraham
Lincoln spent in his first election (as measured in 2011 dollars).

Democratic Party candidate Barack Obama created a broad grassroots movement and
a new method of campaigning by courting and mobilizing activists, donations, and
voters through the Internet (see grassroots fundraising. It was part of a campaign that
mobilized grassroots workers in every state. Obama also set fundraising records in
more than one month by gaining support from a record-breaking number of individual
small donors.

Barack Obama's decline of public funding allowed him to raise as much as he wanted
and spend as much as he wanted