Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-sxzjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T06:26:40.077Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

I Approve This Candidate: The Strategic Use of Ad Endorsements in the 2008 Election

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 October 2015

Newly Paul  and
Chance York
Newly Paul
Affiliation:
Appalachian State University
Chance York
Affiliation:
Kent State University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Contextual and strategic factors that influence the use of endorsements in political advertisements represent an underexplored area of the scholarly literature, resulting in a gap between the art and science of campaigning and the advertising-effects literature. This article uses data from the Wisconsin Ad Project to study endorsements in ads aired during the 2008 election cycle. We show that endorsements are used strategically by campaigns and that four factors—candidate characteristics, campaign characteristics, ad format, and timing—affect whether an ad containing an endorsement is aired. Specifically, endorsements are more likely to appear in positive ads, are primarily used by incumbents and female candidates, are less likely to appear in competitive races, and tend to air less frequently as a campaign progresses.

Type
Features
Information
PS: Political Science & Politics , Volume 48 , Issue 4 , October 2015 , pp. 584 - 589
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Acock, Alan C. 2013. Discovering Structural Equation Modeling Using Stata. College Station, TX: Stata Press Books.Google Scholar
Arceneaux, Kevin, and Kolodny, Robin. 2009. “Educating the Least Informed: Group Endorsements in a Grassroots Campaign.” American Journal of Political Science 53 (4): 755–70.Google Scholar
Brader, Ted. 2005. “Striking a Responsive Chord: How Political Ads Motivate and Persuade Voters by Appealing to Emotions.” American Journal of Political Science 49 (2): 388–405.Google Scholar
Bystrom, Dianne G., Banwart, Mary C., Kaid, Lynda L., and Robertson, Terry A.. 2004. Gender and Candidate Communication: Videostyle, Webstyle, Newstyle. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Chaiken, Shelly. 1980. “Heuristic Versus Systematic Information Processing and the Use of Source Versus Message Cues in Persuasion.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 39 (5): 752–66.Google Scholar
Dolan, Kathleen. 2006. “Women Candidates in American Politics: What We Know, What We Want to Know.” Paper presented at the Midwestern Political Science Association conference, Chicago April 20–23.Google Scholar
Dunaway, Johanna, and Stein, Robert M.. 2013. “Early Voting and Campaign News Coverage.” Political Communication 30 (2): 278–96.Google Scholar
Friedman, Hershey H., and Friedman, Linda. 1979. “Endorser Effectiveness by Product Type.” Journal of Advertising Research 24: 33–41.Google Scholar
Gerber, Elisabeth R., and Phillips, Justin H.. 2003. “Development Ballot Measures, Interest Group Endorsements, and the Political Geography of Growth Preferences.” American Journal of Political Science 47 (4): 625–39.Google Scholar
Golebiowska, Ewa A. 2001. “Group Stereotypes in Political Evaluation.” American Politics Research 29 (6): 535–65.Google Scholar
Jackson, David J., and Darrow, Thomas I. A.. 2005. “The Influence of Celebrity Endorsements on Young Adults’ Political Opinions.” Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics 10 (3): 80–98.Google Scholar
Kahn, Kim F. 1996. The Political Consequences of Being a Woman. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Kaid, Lynda L., and Johnston, Anne. 2001. Videostyle in Presidential Campaigns: Style and Content of Televised Political Advertising. Westport, CT: Praeger.Google Scholar
Lau, Richard R., and Pomper, Gerald M.. 2004. Negative Campaigning: An Analysis of U.S. Senate Elections. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.Google Scholar
Lau, Richard R., and Redlawsk, David P.. 2001. “Advantages and Disadvantages of Cognitive Heuristics in Political Decision Making.” American Journal of Political Science 45 (4): 951–71.Google Scholar
Leon, Fernanda L. 2013. “The Tuesday Advantage of Politicians Endorsed by American Newspapers.” The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy 13 (2): 865–88.Google Scholar
Long, J. Scott, and Freese, Jeremy. 2006. Regression Models for Categorical Dependent Variables Using Stata. College Station, TX: Stata Press Books.Google Scholar
Lupia, Arthur, and McCubbins, Mathew D.. 1998. The Democratic Dilemma: Can Citizens Learn What They Need to Know? Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
McDermott, Monika L. 1997. “Voting Cues in Low-Information Elections: Candidate Gender as a Social Information Variable in Contemporary United States Elections.” American Journal of Political Science 41 (1): 270–83.Google Scholar
McDermott, Monika L. 1998. “Race and Gender Cues in Low-Information Elections.” Political Research Quarterly 51 (4): 895–918.Google Scholar
McDermott, Monika L. 2005. “Candidate Occupations and Voter Information Shortcuts.” Journal of Politics 67 (1): 201–19.Google Scholar
Miciah, Alan R., and Shanklin, William L.. 1994. “Choosing Celebrity Endorsers.” Marketing Management 3 (3): 51–9.Google Scholar
Neddenriep, Gregory, and Nownes, Anthony J.. 2014. “An Experimental Investigation of the Effects of Interest Group Endorsements on Poorly Aligned Partisans in the 2008 Presidential Election.” Party Politics 20 (4): 617–31.Google Scholar
Pease, Andrew, and Brewer, Paul R.. 2008. “The Oprah Factor: The Effects of a Celebrity Endorsement in a Presidential Primary Campaign.” International Journal of Press/Politics 13 (4): 386–400.Google Scholar
Petty, Richard E., and Cacioppo, John T.. 1986. “The Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion.” Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 19: 123–205.Google Scholar
Popkin, Samuel L. 1994. The Reasoning Voter: Communication and Persuasion in Presidential Campaigns. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Sniderman, Paul M., Brody, Richard A., and Tetlock, Philip E.. 1991. Reasoning and Choice: Explorations in Political Psychology. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Sonner, Brenda S. 2005. “Advertising Spending by Incumbents and Challengers.” Journal of Political Marketing 4 (4): 59–73.Google Scholar
Tellis, Gerard J. 2004. Effective Advertising: Understanding When, How, and Why Advertising Works. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Trent, Judith, and Friedenberg, Robert. 2000. Political Campaign Communication: Principles and Practices. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield.Google Scholar
Wang, Jong-Tian. 2010. “The Types of Independent Voters and Their Voting Behavior: Some Observations from Taiwan’s 2008 Presidential Election.” Journal of Electoral Studies 17 (2): 35–69.Google Scholar