Political Advertising Strategies and Effects: An Experimental Design

Program year: 1990/1991Digitized from print original stored in HDRTelevision has had a significant impact on American culture since its mass utilization by the public in the late 1940s. Since the first television broadcasts by RCA at the 1939 New York World's Fair, the television industry has grown from one broadcaster to almost 1400 television stations in 1988 (Biagi, 1990, 382). Television brings ideas into the American home, making them tangible and credible, and evoking a variety of emotions from the public. The American public believes that television -- not printed media or radio -- provides the most intelligent, complete, and impartial coverage of public affairs (Surlin and Gordon, 1976). This belief also transcends into the political arena. Americans believe that the political scene is best covered by television with regard to clarifying both the candidacies and issues in national elections (Iyengar and Kinder, 1987). The choice to vote is one of the most precious tools that an American citizen can use to influence the operation of the American government. Lobbying the American citizen for a vote has become a multi-million dollar business (Biagi, 1990, 304). In the Bush/Dukakis presidential election, over $85 million dollars was spent, with 55% of these monies allocated to media costs attempting to persuade the voters (Biagi, 1990, 304). Before moving into a discussion of political advertising and its effects on voter beliefs and actions, it is necessary to understand the general principles of advertising