Viewers Are Repulsed by Negative Campaign Ads
The findings are based on research conducted by Angelini, in collaboration with Samuel Bradley, assistant professor of advertising at Texas Tech University, and Sungkyoung Lee of Indiana University, which used ads that aired during the 2000 presidential election.
The research found that negative political advertising makes the body want to turn away physically, but the mind remembers negative messages, though sometimes incorrectly, Angelini says.
According to data released this week by the Wisconsin Advertising Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, “during the week of Sept. 28-Oct. 4, nearly 100 percent of the [John] McCain campaign’s advertisements were negative. During the same period, 34 percent of the [Barack] Obama campaign’s ads were negative.”
During the study, the researchers placed electrodes under the eyes of willing participants and showed them a series of 30-second ads from both the George W. Bush and Al Gore campaigns. The electrodes picked up on the “startle response,” the automatic eye movement typically seen in response to snakes, spiders and other threats. Compared to positive or neutral messages, negative advertising prompted greater reflex reactions and a desire to move away.
Media Contact
More Information:
http://www.udel.eduAll latest news from the category: Communications Media
Engineering and research-driven innovations in the field of communications are addressed here, in addition to business developments in the field of media-wide communications.
innovations-report offers informative reports and articles related to interactive media, media management, digital television, E-business, online advertising and information and communications technologies.
Newest articles
Zap Energy achieves 37-million-degree temperatures in a compact device
New publication reports record electron temperatures for a small-scale, sheared-flow-stabilized Z-pinch fusion device. In the nine decades since humans first produced fusion reactions, only a few fusion technologies have demonstrated…
Innovative microscopy demystifies metabolism of Alzheimer’s
Researchers at UC San Diego have deployed state-of-the art imaging techniques to discover the metabolism driving Alzheimer’s disease; results suggest new treatment strategies. Alzheimer’s disease causes significant problems with memory,…
A cause of immunodeficiency identified
After stroke and heart attack: Every year, between 250,000 and 300,000 people in Germany suffer from a stroke or heart attack. These patients suffer immune disturbances and are very frequently…