Exposing negative campaigning or enhancing advertising effects: An experimental study of adwatch effects on voters' evaluations of candidates and their ads
Lm. Mckinnon et Ll. Kaid, Exposing negative campaigning or enhancing advertising effects: An experimental study of adwatch effects on voters' evaluations of candidates and their ads, J APPL COMM, 27(3), 1999, pp. 217-236
Conventional campaign wisdom holds that political news coverage may define
the content of political advertisements. Recently, however, political adver
tisements have been shaping the content of the news. More and more, station
s are conducting political adwatches in hopes of deterring against dishones
t campaigning. In response, this study conducts an experimental examination
of political adwatch effects on voters' perceptions of political candidate
s and their ads. Results reveal that the way some adwatches are framed may
further enhance the target ad's effects. Subjects had similar reactions to
both the ad itself and the candidates regardless of exposure format (ad, ad
watch, combination) according to cell, gender, or political affiliation. Mo
reover, the sponsoring candidate received significantly more favorable eval
uations when compared to those of his opponent (target candidate). Thus, th
e attack ad worked to the sponsor's advantage as adwatch coverage failed to
offset advertising effects. This study concludes that as political adwatch
es are presented today, they may be doing more to enhance advertising effec
ts than to expose negative campaigning.