The New York Times reported today that Sen. Barack Obama’s ad spending has in some cases quadrupled that of Sen. John McCain, and that by next week he could surpass the $188 million George W. Bush spent in 2004.
Damn! Compared to McCain, who has only spent $91 million since winning the Republican bid, Obama has focused on delivering his messages about his actual plans. Furthermore:
“The most recent analysis of the presidential advertisements by the University of Wisconsin, based on the period from Sept. 28 through Oct. 4, found that nearly 100 percent of Mr. McCain’s commercials included an attack on Mr. Obama…”
Lately McCain’s ads have had a pejorative bent, while Obama’s have focused on the actual issues. But seriously, as happy as I am that the candidates help keep the ad biz going, I’m unhappy as a voter to think that this is what’s required to convince people to pick what’s amounting to be the lesser of two evils (again). Not going to get into the implications of an electorate that relies on creative spin to make a decision, because it’s much too sad. Not stopping you all from making a case on the subject, below.
More: “AdAge’s 2008 ‘Women to Watch’”