1. Political Ads

2. How much?
Between TV and Radio there has been nearly $3 billion spent during the 2018 Midterm Elections
The top market is Orlando/Daytona Beach, FL with over $110 million in spending
$75 million has been spent in Phoenix, ranking 8th in total spending for all markets
More money has been spent on the Midterms than the 2012 Presidential Election

3. Where it began
From nearly the beginning, candidates have been advertising
The first advertisements were in print
Many political ads were cartoons that were not directly tied to the candidates
John Q. Adams was the first candidate to run an actual campaign ad

4. Where it began
In 1952, Dwight Eisenhower created the first television ad

5. Where it began
In 1952, Dwight Eisenhower created the first television ad

6. Where it began
The vast majority of advertising focused on the positive side of candidates prior to 1964
In 1964 Lyndon Johnson ran the “Daisy Girl” ad, which many people viewed as the first negative political ad

7. Where it began
The vast majority of advertising focused on the positive side of candidates prior to 1964
In 1964 Lyndon Johnson ran the “Daisy Girl” ad, which many people viewed as the first negative political ad

8. Where it began
Since 1964 political advertising has been a mixture of positive and negative advertising
The thought of most political strategists was that positive ads get people to vote for a candidate
The following 40 years, after the “Daisy Girl” ad, saw mostly positive advertising

9. Where it began
Sing 1964 political advertising has been a mixture of positive and negative advertising
The thought of most political strategists was that positive ads get people to vote for a candidate
The following 40 years, after the “Daisy Girl” ad, saw mostly positive advertising

10. Where it began
Sing 1964 political advertising has been a mixture of positive and negative advertising
The thought of most political strategists was that positive ads get people to vote for a candidate
The following 40 years, after the “Daisy Girl” ad, saw mostly positive advertising

11. When did it change?
The 2006 gubernatorial race in Texas saw the introduction of science and psychology being applied to campaigning
Prior to this race, political strategists relied on data analysis as the main tool in campaigning
Random polling was the best technology used by campaigns

12. The Perry Campaign
Rick Perry’s campaign used randomized controlled trials to test advertising
The Perry campaign did an ad blitz to shore up support prior to the election
They spent $2 million on negative advertising in 18 markets across Texas
The research found that the advertising created a 5% gain but only lasted about a week
Perry won the election, and the new form of research became the new normal

13. Hacking the brain
As elections get tighter, new tactics begin to emerge
Fear ads begin to appear in the 2000 presidential election
The psychology of these ads aren’t researched until 2008
Researchers find that when people view and believe fear ads they are less likely to stick to a single party
In the 2000 election, George W. Bush used subliminal messaging to ad an element of fear to an ad

14. Hacking the brain
As elections get tighter, new tactics begin to emerge
Fear ads begin to appear in the 2000 presidential election
The psychology of these ads aren’t researched until 2008
Researchers find that when people view and believe fear ads they are less likely to stick to a single party
Since 2000, subtle tactics have been commonplace in political ads to stoke fear

15. Hacking the brain
Since studies in 2008, the majority of campaign ads have skewed to negative or fear ads
The idea is simple:
Positive ads keep your base
Negative and Fear ads push voters away from a candidate
When children are involved in a fear ad, people tend to skew toward a conservative candidate

18. Does it work?
Negative ads have been shown to create more thoughtful voters
People are more likely to research opinions after viewing negative advertising
Bad candidates don’t see huge statistical gains when relying purely on negative advertising
The one thing that always matters is money spent, the more advertising that is out there almost always equates to more votes