Someone Is Watching
Yesterday, we talked about why you should not rely on paid political advertising—for or against a candidate—for accurate information upon which to base your vote. If we all know the ads are not trustworthy, then why are record amounts of money being spent on them?
Because apparently they do work, at least on some segments of the population…a new study from TVision has some surprising results.
The group found that when political ads appear, viewers stay in the room 22 percent longer than when other types of ads appear. And viewers’ eyes stay on political ads 15 percent longer than ads for other services or products.
Apparently it’s like when you’re driving down the road and you see the aftermath of a collision…you know you should just keep going, but you can’t help yourself; you can’t look away.
Those who identify themselves as independents pay the most attention to political ads compared with other ads.
Independents pay the most attention to political ads they see on CNN at a rate of 42.1 percent…independents’ attention is close to that—39.2 percent—on both Fox News and MSNBC.
Perhaps not surprisingly, Republicans pay the most attention to political ads on Fox News, while Democrats pay the most attention to political ads on MSNBC.
Finally, another interesting note that may not be helpful for democracy…the youngest voting-age viewers pay considerably more attention to political ads than other ads. Among 18-24 year olds, attention increases 12 percent for political ads, the largest jump for any demo other than those 55 and up.
So why so many ads? Someone is watching.
