Wesleyan Media Project

Little Pro-Trump Advertising(MIDDLETOWN, CT) July 16, 2024 – The Biden campaign maintained a relatively steady level of television ad spending in the two weeks following the debate (ending July 10), but pro-Biden group spending declined, according to an analysis by the Wesleyan Media Project.  The Biden campaign (including coordinated spending with the DNC) spent an estimated $10.4 million on 22,348 ad airings in the two weeks prior to the debate and spent an estimated $8.9 million on 24,307 airings in the two weeks after, through July 10 (Table 1). The number of media markets in which the campaign was active–which…

(MIDDLETOWN, CT) June 5, 2024 – The Wesleyan Media Project is releasing the first post in a series of regularly updated overviews of issue mentions in federal races by state. Below we show the percentage of ads mentioning seven key issues tracked by the WMP (abortion, energy/environment, guns, health care, immigration, inflation, public safety). The post covers ads from all sponsors (candidates, parties, and outside groups) aired on broadcast TV in U.S. House and U.S. Senate races from March 6, 2024 to May 31, 2024. Note that percentages across the columns may total more than 100 percent because ads often…

Biden Campaign Spends Heavily on Digital Ads(MIDDLETOWN, CT) May 31, 2024 – Since March 6, spending in the general election phase of the presidential race has been almost evenly split between television ads on local broadcast and national cable television and spending on digital ads on the Meta and Google platforms, according to a new analysis from the Wesleyan Media Project.  The analysis looks at spending totals on Facebook (which includes Instagram) and Google (including search, third party, and YouTube) by President Biden and former President Trump, along with their supportive outside groups.  Television accounts for over $24 million in…

Trump Backed by Groups but is Still Out-Aired 2:1(MIDDLETOWN, CT) May 23, 2024 – Advertising for the presidential general election has started, with about $25 million spent to-date on local broadcast and national television since March 6, the day both Joe Biden and Donald Trump had effectively secured their respective parties’ nominations.  The bulk of that money has come from the Biden campaign, with $13.6 million in ad spending, backed by another $2.9 million in spending by pro-Biden groups.  The Trump campaign has yet to spend a penny on broadcast or national cable television advertising during the general election period…