Because it was long thought that few people would watch lengthy televised political messages, most televised political advertisements, like commercial advertisements, took the form of short messages  Last year, however, one candidate produced a half-hour-long advertisement  During the half hour the advertisement was aired, a substantial portion of the viewing public tuned into the advertisement
Clearly, then, many more people are interested in watching lengthy televised political messages than was previously thought
Political advertisements have become increasingly influential in determining voters' decisions at the polls.