Advances in Political Advertising Research: A Progression from if to When

Abstract

This paper reviews the literature on political advertising. It proposes that research in this field has progressed through three stages of development. Initial research indicated political advertising and other forms of mass communication had little effect on voting intentions. Interest in political advertising was renewed with the spread of television and the use of political spot ads. Findings indicated that these commercials could influence awareness, knowledge, agenda salience and even the outcomes of elections. The third stage of research has examined the impact of specific types of advertising messages such as image versus issue content and negative appeals, as well as voter and situational variables that can influence the affect of political ads. Suggestions are made for the future development of political advertising research centered around larger models of the way political advertising and political elections may operate.