Public Has Less Faith in Political Advertising

By: Gregory Solman (Adweek.com) A survey of California residents during the gubernatorial recall election shows diminished faith in political advertising when it traditionally peaks -- as Election Day draws near. And the Golden State contest may be an indicator of how media, advertising and voters interact in the next presidential elections.

The survey, conducted over the Internet by Interpublic Group's Initiative Media, tracked changing attitudes toward paid and unpaid political media communication among 300 respondents, starting Sept. 12 and ending Sept. 30. At the period's end, almost half of the respondents said they were less reliant on political ads as a source of information than they were when the campaign launched in August.

Initiative speculates this is due to growing disenchantment with negative ads. In fact, more than six out of 10 respondents said negative ads make them feel less positive about the candidate running the ad rather than the attack target.

Forty-four percent said campaign ads have had less impact on their opinions than in the past, with only 16% claiming a greater effect. And more than three-quarters of respondents (77%) said they were not persuaded by free-media opportunities, such as appearances on talk shows. Perhaps not surprisingly, 46% felt that shows such as The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, where Arnold Schwarzenegger announced his candidacy, focus too much on trivia.

Still Initiative's survey found a "blurring of a distinction between what is information and what is entertainment," said David Ernst, Initiative's executive vice president of futures and technologies. "Getting exposure is the big thing, whether it is paid or unpaid. We saw Arnold Schwarzenegger growing and extending after his talk show appearance, then using the debate to seal the deal."

But the debate tended to have little effect on opinion, with only 7% saying they were swayed by the Sept. 24 debate.

"Candidates who use nontraditional forms of communications play into the disenchantment with the status quo," added Ernst. But, he said, "surprisingly, TV is still strong. Internet is not pushing TV out of its predominant role."

TV and the Web work in tandem, explained Pamela Marsh, research manager for Initiative. "We found a lot of cross-platforming and multitasking," she said, noting that 40% to 50% of respondents had referenced a Web site to which they were directed by television.

"The study is a good barometer for how the media will probably cover the 2004 campaign, as well as how candidates and voters will rely on the media to connect with one another," said Marsh. "Voters are relying less and less on the packaged information that comes directly from the candidates and more on cable and network news and the Internet, as driven by television information."

More than a third of respondents said they pay less attention to most forms of political advertising than they did 10 years ago, including billboards/transit (42%), commercials (38%) and pamphlets (33%). Meanwhile, 20% of respondents said they turned to network news more than in the past, with cable news following at 18%.

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When voters were asked which news media they relied on most for political information, newspapers were ranked second as the primary source of survey respondents and first as their secondary choice. Only network TV got a higher ranking as the primary source (15.6% versus newspapers' 14.9%).

The survey also asked: When obtaining political information about candidates, campaigns and elections, please indicate which sources are "objective/unbiased." The results:

Public TV/Radio: 28.5%
Cable News: 24.2%
Internet: 21.2%
Newspapers: 12.3%
Talk Radio: 10.6%
Magazines: 8.3%
Entertainment TV Talk Shows: 6.3%
Political Ads: 2.3%

When asked how their media reliance for political information has changed from 10 years ago, 32% said they relied more on the Internet, 20% more on network TV, and 18% more on cable news.