Political Television Advertising

Are you ready for it? "But it Just ended!!!" you say! While that is true, the stage is about to be set for the 2012 Presidential Bid, and if you think the last 2 years have been ugly... Get ready for an all out backyard wrestling match between congresspeople, senators, candidates, your pet dog lucky and the neighbors second cousin Murray.

But what really makes a successful message when it comes to political advertising? If history is any lesson it is made up of two very simple things. A message that is both "Simple" and "Emotional". Sounds to simple right. Its not. In fact many candidates have taken things too far, trying to over-explain issues and agendas only to loose the interest of their audience. This may not be exactly how you want a voting public to think... however it is... so lets stick to reality. Its is the way a majority thinks, and the majority is who every candidate is after.

Why is that? Because the well thought out individual who does their homework, knows the issues, and knows exactly what each candidate stands for will never be swayed by political television advertising. The people who will take the political advertising into consideration are the sideline viewers. They have little time to research every single issue or may lack the resources to do so. In the giant pie chart of the general public, this group has the biggest piece of pie. Unfortunately, this group is also the group that is often times taken advantage of in tricky, confusing, manipulative political television advertising. Advertising that comes across as both "simple" and "emotional". While there is nothing wrong striking the an "emotional" cord with a "simple" message, its important to remember that the message needs to be accurate.

After the dust has settled, or even in the middle of a storm - if that "simple" and "emotional" message is construed as slander or defamation of character and brought to court. It can very quickly derail an otherwise strong campaign. Something that neither the candidate or the general public should have to put up with, when trying to find the best people to lead their communities into the future. So weather you are a casual viewer of political television advertising or a candidate trying to craft a message. Remember two things when watching or broadcasting - "Simple" & "Emotional".


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