Description
Negative television advertisements are a commonly used technique during political campaigns. By casting doubt on one's opponent, a candidate may be able to sway voters to their side of the fence, and in fact voters do report being influenced by the ads. Past research has largely focused on how voters report their response to negative advertisements in terms of recall and likelihood to vote for the candidate presenting the ad. This study expanded on the previous notions of negative advertisements, namely that they are effective in swaying voters, by employing qualitative method to deconstruct the negative advertisements used in one particular campaign. Research questions focused on which specific elements are present in a negative advertisement, including the language and imagery employed. The results revealed that personal attacks on character are the most common theme among negative ads, and that the use of photographs and color are used often to create engaging and persuasive messages. Despite the fact that past research suggests a link between poll position and the use of negative advertisements, this study did not reveal and association between the two. The study uncovered specific pieces of the advertisements that might be studied further in the future. The use of brightly colored text and photographs are two parts of a negative advertisement that could be tested for ability to persuade and afford greater recall. Overall, the study showed that an integration of language and imagery are used to create negative advertisements. The study also highlighted the fact that in addition to speaking to the voting population at large, negative advertisements also frequently identify a sub-population to target in a particular ad.
