The Power of the Television Spot

• Their messages are brief, usually 30 seconds: Even voters with a short attention span should be able to catch this soundbite.
• They are visually appealing: TV spots can attract attention with eye-grabbing visuals. Read more about the use of visuals in political ads by clicking here.
• There is no effort involved: TV spots can reach people that otherwise might not pay any attention to campaign messages. While you have to make an effort to read a newspaper article, or tune into the evening news, you may see political ads even if you're not interested in the race.
• The candidate controls the message completely: In a television spot, candidates can carefully create the message they wish to get across to potential voters, controlling what is said, and how they appear. Other campaign messages may not be so easy to control. For example, a personal appearance may not go well when the candidate messes up a speech, or a journalist may be critical in a newspaper article.
• Television gives the candidates access to a large audience: Personal appearances, posters, newspaper articles, and print ads are all limited in the size and diversity of audience that they can reach in comparison to television spots. By advertising during widely watched programs, candidates can reach a large audience.
• Television allows candidates to target their message to certain groups of people: Because different kinds of people tend to watch different television shows, candidates can adjust their messages for different groups and then target them with their ads. For example, a candidate who wants to win over female voters between the ages of 20 and 60 with daycare policies could place an ad on "Oprah".
• The message is repeated: An article in the paper or on the news may be seen and soon forgotten by potential voters. TV spots on the other hand can be shown regularly over the run-up to the election, virtually guaranteeing that frequent television watchers will see the ad several times.

Project
Are the candidates target marketing in the mayoral election? Have everyone in your class make a note of when they see mayoral ads on TV to discover what ads run during what television shows, and at what times of day. Do you think the candidates are targeting certain ads to particular demographic groups? What kinds of people do you think the different candidates would like to reach with their TV spots?

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