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McCain and Obama Have Already Spent Over $50 Million on General Election TV Ads
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ShareJuly 30, 2008 7:30 AM
ABC News' David Chalian Reports: It may only be July and Americans may be more tuned into summer vacation plans than the presidential election, but that hasn't stopped the two presidential campaigns from filling the airwaves in key battleground states with television ads hammering home their best selling points. Since the end of the nomination season on June 3, more than a combined $50 million has been spent by the McCain and Obama teams to air more than 100,000 ads, according to a new report released by the Wisconsin Advertising Project.
Voters in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin are getting to see the most intense back and forth in the campaign ad wars for the June 3 - July 26 period studied in the survey. John McCain is spending more than Barack Obama in those four key battleground states and the RNC is stepping in to help bolster McCain's message. The DNC has yet to air a television ad in support of its presumptive nominee. Despite Sen. Obama's enormous fundraising advantage over Sen. McCain, when the McCain spending total is combined with the RNC total, the Republican side has put $24.7 million into tv ad spending compared to the Obama's campaign $27 million bringing both sides to near parity. In fact, when campaign ad spending is totaled in all the states where both candidates are on the air, John McCain is out-advertising Barack Obama.
Florida voters, who are accustomed to being in the presidential campaign spotlight, have only seen television advertising from Barack Obama. The Democrat has poured more than $5 million on the Sunshine State airwaves since clinching his party's nomination, but -- to the surprise of some folks in Obama headquarters in Chicago -- that has not scared the McCain team into joining the expensive battle at this early juncture.
The Wisconsin Advertising Project rates each ad as positive or negative and found that over 90 percent of the ads aired by Obama are positive in nature and do not mention Senator McCain. Approximately a third of the McCain campaign’s ads are negative, contrasting the two presidential candidates.
Far fewer ads were run in the same period in the 2004 contest when John Kerry and George Bush had put a combined 77,000 ads on the air. The nomination season ended much earlier in 2004 and Kerry and Bush were communicating with a general election audience on tv as early as March of that year. The study also finds that Sen. Obama has been delivering more focused messaging compared to his predecessor John Kerry. In 2004, Kerry talked about 25 different issues between June 3 and July 26, while during a comparable period Obama has only mentioned 14 issues.
Some other findings: To date, McCain has narrated 20 percent of the ads sponsored by his campaign, while Obama has narrated 51 percent of the ads sponsored by his campaign.
In terms of issues, the two campaigns largely appear to be talking past each other. The top three issues that Senator Obama addressed in his television ads were jobs, welfare, and defense policy, respectively. Senator McCain talked about energy policy, national defense, and economic recession in his ads.
Throughout the primaries Senator Obama labeled himself the candidate of change. Since winning the Democratic nomination, however, less than 1 percent of his ads mention the word change.
Senator McCain used the word hope in over 34 percent of his ads, while Senator Obama has not used the word hope since June 3rd.
Once the target of much criticism for not wearing an American flag pin on his lapel, Senator Barack Obama featured the flag in over 68 percent of his ads. The flag appeared in approximately 37 percent of Senator McCain’s television advertisements.
July 30, 2008 in Hunter, Duncan, Kucinich, Dennis, Tancredo, Tom, Thompson, Fred | Permalink | User Comments (7)
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An this amount will shoot way up as we count down to November. Makes me wonder about the effectiveness of these ads. Do they really deliver the required bang for the buck spent on them? No doubt a well-placed emotional or attack ad can impact a race. But what about the rest of the boring ad bunch?
Posted by: matthew | Jul 30, 2008 7:57:55 AM
Issues We care About!
The neoconservatives and the Bush administration should be held accountable not only for the cost of the Iraq War but the 492 billion dollar deficit.
- Part of the cost are the 30,000 USA Troops wounded.
-Start laying the groundwork to move the the US away from oil dependency.
As soon as the 2008 election is over The Republicans will start running for the next elections in 2010 and 2012. This is the reason gridlock doesn't help this country.
The Republicans as a group should "pay a price" for the Gridlock.
Those that work together with the Democrats to end the mess that the neoconservatives created should be courted.
Vote Democrat '08
Posted by: Bobby | Jul 30, 2008 8:13:18 AM
Throughout the primaries Senator Obama labeled himself the candidate of change. Since winning the Democratic nomination, however, less than 1 percent of his ads mention the word change.
________________________________-
Did I miss the convention, he has been through a REAL Democratic nomination?
Hey we all must have missed the Election too!
Posted by: HP Boston | Jul 30, 2008 8:14:24 AM
Some other findings: To date, McCain has narrated 20 percent of the ads sponsored by his campaign, while Obama has narrated 51 percent of the ads sponsored by his campaign.
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Well ya Obuma is the precious one, he loves to see and hear himself!
Me thinks there will never be an dumb enough guy to be his VP.
Obuma can not share the limelight with anyone.
Posted by: HP Boston | Jul 30, 2008 8:20:34 AM
Spending that kind of money that has been supplied one way or another by the American public is just not right. This kind of money expects some type of return. Make your own guess.
Posted by: William | Jul 30, 2008 8:24:53 AM
why? Your mannerisms, manufactured outrage and manifest ignorance seem mannish enough to me. Something tells me your fixation on racial humiliation has manipulated you into this maniacal state, not that I blame manumission, man!
Posted by: manny | Jul 30, 2008 11:33:44 AM
If you think the last few years were bad....... just wait till Obuma gets elected. With the Dumbacrats running congress we will have runaway spending and runaway tax increases. Doubt it? well universal health care isn't free, nor is a bailout to folks who bought houses they couldn't afford, nor are the other giveaway programs Barry O is promising. And with the only OK energy source being wind & solar ( no nuclear, no oil, no coal, etc) we'll soon have $10 a gallon gas. But hey, the Sierra Club, Al ( I snookered you Moron's for over $100 million on Climate change) Gork, and Barry O will be thrilled. And as an added bonus, the French will like us because we will be neutered economically and militarily. Lots too look forward to under the reign of Barry O.
Posted by: Fred | Jul 30, 2008 12:22:24 PM
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