More money has been spent on television in this nascent presidential race than has ever been spent by this point before. And yet for many candidates, the rising tide of ads isn’t lifting their boats. Jeb Bush is the glaring example: $35 million spent on TV on his behalf as of December 14 and poll standings in single digits. But one analyst for another campaign who has been tracking ad spend and poll movement has seen no correlation between the two at all, even for candidates whose standing has improved. Paid media so far isn’t doing for candidates what it historically has done, inspiring suggestions that the TV ad is dead. These suggestions are wildly premature. The TV ad is a traditional tactic struggling for traction in nontraditional circumstances, much like many candidates. Still, with more money flowing than ever, and data science driving more targeted placement than ever, how can this be? Maybe it’s because most ads look the same as ever.
Same ads Reviewing the 166 unique TV commercials captured by CMAG so far in the 2016 race, particularly
Subscribe Today
Our subscribers have first access to individual race pages for each House, Senate and Governors race, which will include race ratings (each race is rated on a seven-point scale) and a narrative analysis pertaining to that race.