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2020 ElectionsReleases

Ad Spending Ramps Up in Florida, Illinois, Ohio

More than $1 Billion Spent in Democratic Nomination Campaign, 30% on Digital     (MIDDLETOWN, CT) March 11, 2020 – Voters in four states with large numbers of delegates (Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio) will cast presidential primary ballots on March 17. Spending on television ads in these states during the past week (between March 4 and 8) was around $6.5 million (Table 1). Sanders spent $2.6 million on ads in these four states, while Biden topped $1.6 million. There was also some advertising from Michael Bloomberg, who dropped out of the race on March 4, and Elizabeth Warren, who…
Wesleyan Media Project
March 11, 2020
2020 ElectionsReleases

Presidential Ad Spending Approaches $900 Million

Bloomberg Ad Spending Unprecedented, Tops Previous General Election Candidate Spending     (MIDDLETOWN, CT) February 26, 2020 – A new analysis from the Wesleyan Media Project has identified $617 million in spending on television ads in the presidential race, while digital spending in the presidential race has soared to about $260 million.   “It is possible we reach $1 billion in ad spending before Super Tuesday,” said Erika Franklin Fowler, co-director of the Wesleyan Media Project.   Television advertising was led by Michael Bloomberg, whose spending has surpassed $377 million for over 444,000 ads (Table 1). Tom Steyer has spent…
Wesleyan Media Project
February 26, 2020
2016 ElectionsBlogReleases

Eschewing policy in advertising? Lessons from 2016

  (MIDDLETOWN, CT) February 25, 2020 – Michael Bloomberg’s recent political ad, which portrays Donald Trump as a bully, has prompted discussion on social media about the effectiveness of personal versus policy attacks. Many of these discussions invoked a Wesleyan Media Project analysis from 2016 published in The Forum. In this research, we demonstrated that Clinton ran one of the most unusual presidential advertising campaigns in recent history by focusing overwhelmingly on personal characteristics of her opponent, Trump. While our 2016 study did not speak to effectiveness of personal versus policy ads, there is evidence that candidates suffer backlash from sponsoring…
Wesleyan Media Project
February 25, 2020
2020 ElectionsReleases

As NH Primary Nears, TV Ad Spending Tops $430 Million Nationally

Presidential Digital Ad Spending Nearly $200 Million (MIDDLETOWN, CT) February 5, 2020 – New Hampshire voters will be casting presidential primary ballots in less than a week, and one candidate is dominating the airwaves: Tom Steyer. A new analysis from the Wesleyan Media Project shows that of the roughly $33 million in television ad spending in the state (including neighboring Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont) Steyer accounts for almost half: $15.6 million (see Table 1). Steyer has aired twice as many ads (19,307) as his nearest competitor, Michael Bloomberg, who has aired nearly 9,413 ads at a cost of about $6.2…
Wesleyan Media Project
February 5, 2020