The political season is OVER! And so too are all of those ads. At least for now. But how much impact do they have and what media are impacting decisions? According to YouGov, $2.16 BB was spent on candidate and issue advertising during the election cycle, an increase of 17% over 2020. In battleground markets like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Raleigh local spending was up more than 40% vs previously record-setting 2020.
In a sea of name-calling, policy discord, and hard-to-find truths—what do Americans think of political ads and do they matter in the lead-up to the voting process? Well, here are some facts, according to the survey:
- Americans say that news reports are the #1 source for political information about candidates and issues
- One-third say that ads have a “moderate” amount of influence on voting choices while 5% say ads have a “great deal” of impact on their decisions
- As a medium, they place the most trust in television ads and the least trust in social media platforms.
- 58% say that there were too many political ads on TV during the recent presidential cycle
- 35% say they pay less attention to political ads vs other categories
- YouTube (36%) and Facebook (32%) were growing sources of election news among Americans
- Lastly, 50% of Americans say that political advertising does not influence their voting decisions, which means that more than $1BB in spending was “wasted.”
Source: https://www.adweek.com/convergent-tv/infographic-what-people-really-think-about-political-ads/#
At MSM, we too are glad it is over. We welcome some normalcy.
How about you? Was it overkill?
Did the wave of political messages positively or negatively influence you?
Let us know at info@mayoseitzmedia.com.
