So, this is an article from the New York Times that states
that Las Vegas set the record last week for having the most televised campaign announcements
in a single year. Of the 73,000 television ads aired, there were about 98
different types and most of them were paid for with super PAC money. According
to the article, as much as $3.3 billion are estimated to be spent on television
advertising this year for the Presidential campaign, which is a third higher
than the total amount of money spent on advertising in the 2008 election (which
was about $2.5 billion). I feel that the amount of money being put into
advertising for the election campaigns is astounding, and somewhat pointless. I
just don’t see how bombarding television networks will influence people to want
to vote for a certain candidate, especially if they already have a fixed idea
in mind on who they want to vote for. Personally, I think it’s a huge waste of
money and time. In a lot of other
countries, there are no television campaign advertisements, yet there is still
a huge voter turnout. Maybe this type of money could be used instead to build infrastructure or create more jobs; things that could actually help Americans.
Monday, October 15, 2012
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The money is insane, and the people quoted in the article have been driven crazy by all of the advertising. Seems to be counter-productive, turning people off rather than attracting voters. One point that is not made in the article but that occurs to me is that maybe they are advertising so much in Las Vegas because it is a national destination: there are so many tourists and conventioneers in Vegas, and they are coming and going all the time, that the presidential candidates are really reaching a national audience, in a sense, by advertising on Las Vegas TV.
ReplyDeleteI think it is ridiculous how much money they are pouring into this advertising and like Chloe I think it is pointless. Whenever I see an election ad for any type of race, be it presidential or state representative I just change the channel. It just keeps going to the smear campaigns. I understand there are people out there (like my brother) who do not even know who is running in this election, but make the ads informative, not destructive towards the other candidate. Then I feel that they will not be a waste of money.
ReplyDeleteI believe that to a degree that the political commercials are helpful, but this is just crazy. All that money being put into this is such a waste. Do politicians really believe that the more money they spend on an ad makes people vote for them? Not at all, it is now more the other way around. The amount of advertisements going on in Las Vegas is ridiculous. Honestly, this would make me hate the election than actually get into it. Why can't t politicians realize that spending oo-goo gobs of money on so many ads will makes people vote less? It isn't that hard; no one likes watching them...at all (except for some, if that). I do find it comical that at the end of the first page Lisa Howfield said that TV shows will be so short they can only say "Hello, Welcome is News 3. And Goodbye."
ReplyDeleteI agree that the amount of money put into advertizing is very unnecessary and even obnoxious. It also is a little embarrassing as an American to see this going on as such a normal thing, when in many other countries it is mocked. My cousin who lives in Germany but she is studying here for a year, says how ridiculous the campaigns are here, and that they would never have so much constant and negative TV advertizing. I also agree that this constant stream of adds turns away voters. The politically inactive citizens are politically inactive for this reason. They do not see the point is supporting this kind of absurdity. I think we would see a higher voter turn out if there was not these constant bombardment of adds. I also think it should be noted that most of these adds are negative, and just cause controversy in the end. This years campaigns are being noted as the most negative in history, and I think that has a lot to do with the huge excess of advertizing on TV.
ReplyDeleteI don't blame the citizens of Nevada for becoming agitated with the nonstop ads. I would definitely be getting annoyed, too. I agree that the constant advertising is obnoxious and will eventually turn away voters. The average citizen really doesn’t want politics to consume their every thought. Being bombarded with so many ads will cause many people to withdraw from political activity altogether. I understand the candidates are trying to win over critical swing states but enough is enough. I think that the candidates and their affiliated political organizations should invest more time and in preparing for debates and speeches than putting out another television ad.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that during this election I have seen very few political ads. They are absolutely one of the most irritating things to watch because it is just the same thing over and over. I just feel it is a waste of money that irritates voters more than informs them. If the ads were more constructive, maybe I could see the benefit of them but as of now I see them only as a pain. I think Mr. Danson raises a great point however when he mentions that Las Vegas receives so many Americans from all over the country so it is a good place to be doing the advertising. Really I am just glad we have been left out of it this year.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that during this election I have seen very few political ads. They are absolutely one of the most irritating things to watch because it is just the same thing over and over. I just feel it is a waste of money that irritates voters more than informs them. If the ads were more constructive, maybe I could see the benefit of them but as of now I see them only as a pain. I think Mr. Danson raises a great point however when he mentions that Las Vegas receives so many Americans from all over the country so it is a good place to be doing the advertising. Really I am just glad we have been left out of it this year.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about all of the things we could be doing as a country with 3.3 billion dollars, it's a little sickening. The ads mainly mock the other candidates anyway without providing any persuasive reasons for why you should vote for their candidate. If I saw all of those repetitive commercials every time I watched TV, I wouldn't even want to watch the debates or hear any political news anymore. It's obvious that these ads are driving people away from voting from the reactions in the article, so it's a real shame that this large amount of money is wasted for this pointless annoyance.
ReplyDeleteThere is LITERALLY nothing worse than political commercials. It would be one thing if the commercials actually informed voters about topics in short 30 second clips, but instead they just assist the smear campaigns that have taken over our political system. It's a shame that it's come down to that, and I honestly wonder what kind of effect they have on undecided voters. Do they in some way sway the voter to a certain candidate? I can't imagine someone actually has their voter decided because they happen to catch a 30 second ad in the middle of watching Modern Family. Dave is totally right, 3.3 billion dollars being wasted on this garbage is ridiculous.
ReplyDeletePeople who work in marketing say that the advertising that political campaigns do has a subconscious effect on the minds of voters. I think that excess advertising could have a reverse effect though. After seeing thousands of ads, people become sick of them and so maybe they start to do the opposite of their purpose. It does make it hard not to be at least aware of the election though. A lot of money goes into it but there are so many cases of money being poured into something unnecessary and wasteful that it doesn't really bother me.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of money being poured into this presidential election is outrageous. The article states that 3.3 billion dollars were spent on television advertising for this election, compared to 2.5 billion dollars in 2008. 2.5 billion, I believe is still an aburd amount of money, but it is scary to think that the competition is getting more intense this year. The article also states that battle ground states, such as Nevada are getting the worst of the advertisement battle. The article states that Nevada had the most presidential advertisements advertised last week.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of money being poured into this presidential election is outrageous. The article states that 3.3 billion dollars were spent on television advertising for this election, compared to 2.5 billion dollars in 2008. 2.5 billion, I believe is still an aburd amount of money, but it is scary to think that the competition is getting more intense this year. The article also states that battle ground states, such as Nevada are getting the worst of the advertisement battle. The article states that Nevada had the most presidential advertisements advertised last week.
ReplyDeleteThe amount of money being poured into this presidential election is outrageous. The article states that 3.3 billion dollars were spent on television advertising for this election, compared to 2.5 billion dollars in 2008. 2.5 billion, I believe is still an aburd amount of money, but it is scary to think that the competition is getting more intense this year. The article also states that battle ground states, such as Nevada are getting the worst of the advertisement battle. The article states that Nevada had the most presidential advertisements advertised last week.
ReplyDeleteI don't think more money has ever been wasted than the amount spent on 2012 presidential campaign ads. Have any of you honestly changed your minds about a presidential candidate after watching a political ad, or a dozen? I also think our system is flawed when a voter in Las Vegas is worth so much more attention and representation than a voter in say, Philadelphia just because Nevada is a swing state this election cycle and Pennsylvania isn't
ReplyDeleteThe money spent on the election was ridiculous. The nation is in debt, but we spend 6 billion dollars on campaigns. There are so many other things that the money could have done for our economy. There are supposed to be limitations on how much a person can donate and there are, but super PACs totally ignore the restrictions becasue they dont apply to them. So what is the point of even having restrictions in the first place if certain groups don't have to follow the rules.
ReplyDelete