October 2012

Over 900,000 Ads Aired in Presidential General Election Race; Over 210,000 Ads since October 1; President Continues to Hold Ad Advantage in Key Markets; Independent Groups and Obama Campaign Most Likely to Use Pure Attack Ads (MIDDLETOWN, CT) Oct. 24, 2012 – Over 915,000 presidential ads have been aired on broadcast and national cable television since June 1.  This is a 44.5 percent increase from the 637,000 ads aired through October 21 in 2008 and a 43.7 percent increase from the 634,000 ads aired through October 21 in 2004.  See Figure 1. (more…)

President Holds Advantage in 14 of 15 Top Markets; Only 7.8 Percent of Presidential Ads Positive; FCC electronic disclosure leaves out more than 50% of federal ads (MIDDLETOWN, CT) Oct. 3, 2012 – In the three-week period since the parties’ national conventions, Barack Obama and his party and interest group allies have continued to dominate the airwaves in the battleground presidential states. From September 9 to September 30, Obama held an ad advantage in 14 of the 15 most advertised media markets in the key states of Virginia, Ohio, and Florida (Table 1). In the top 15 markets, pro-Romney advertising…