Billy House, Media General News Service
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WASHINGTON - Heading into their final month of campaigning, Barack Obama last week outspent Republican presidential rival John McCain on television ads by 3 to 1 in battleground states like Florida and Virginia and by 8 to 1 in North Carolina.
A non-partisan study released Wednesday by the Wisconsin Advertising Project also showed that nearly all of the TV ads aired by the McCain team carried "negative" or harsh overtones, reflecting the more aggressive rhetoric heard on the stump from McCain and running mate Sarah Palin.
The study said 34 percent of Obama's ads over those same days could be considered "negative."
Ten of the 15 states where both candidates advertised - including Florida, Virginia and North Carolina - were won by President Bush in the 2004 election, said Ken Goldstein, professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the advertising project.
"This campaign is being played on the Republican side of the field this year," concluded Goldstein, who added that Obama's fundraising advantage is allowing him to spend his TV ad money in more states.
Nationally, the study found Obama and McCain combined to spend $28 million from Sept. 28 through Oct. 4 on TV ads. Obama had a $6 million edge in spending over McCain and the Republican National Committee, which is helping McCain air his ads.
Ohio, a traditional swing state in presidential elections, drew the most advertising dollars as the Obama camp spent $2.2 million and the McCain team spent $1.7 million.
Florida - where Tampa, Orlando and Miami are three of Obama's six busiest TV advertising markets nationwide - attracted the second highest spending. Obama $2.2 million, while the McCain camp spent $659,000.
Virginia ranked fifth among all states after Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Obama out-advertised McCain in Virginia, $2 million to $547,000.
North Carolina ranked eighth, but the advertising dollars there were even more lop-sided. Obama spent $1.2 million, while McCain spent $148,000.
Obama's busiest six markets for airing ads were Las Vegas, Tampa, Denver, Orlando, Milwaukee, and Miami. McCain's six busiest markets were Denver, Las Vegas, Green Bay, Wis., Cleveland, Milwaukee and Reno, Nev.
Despite spending $1.2 million in Michigan, McCain by Thursday pulled his campaign out of the state.
While the study found that "nearly 100 percent" of McCain's TV ads were negative last week, compared to 34 percent for Obama, it also reported that both candidates' campaigns have been more negative on TV than their 2004 predecessors, President Bush and Democratic Sen. John Kerry.
During all of 2004, 64 percent of the Republican Bush campaign's ads were negative, while to date 73 percent of McCain's have been. And 34 percent of Kerry's ads were negative, compared to 61 percent of Obama's ad so far.
A non-partisan study released Wednesday by the Wisconsin Advertising Project also showed that nearly all of the TV ads aired by the McCain team carried "negative" or harsh overtones, reflecting the more aggressive rhetoric heard on the stump from McCain and running mate Sarah Palin.
The study said 34 percent of Obama's ads over those same days could be considered "negative."
Ten of the 15 states where both candidates advertised - including Florida, Virginia and North Carolina - were won by President Bush in the 2004 election, said Ken Goldstein, professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and director of the advertising project.
"This campaign is being played on the Republican side of the field this year," concluded Goldstein, who added that Obama's fundraising advantage is allowing him to spend his TV ad money in more states.
Nationally, the study found Obama and McCain combined to spend $28 million from Sept. 28 through Oct. 4 on TV ads. Obama had a $6 million edge in spending over McCain and the Republican National Committee, which is helping McCain air his ads.
Ohio, a traditional swing state in presidential elections, drew the most advertising dollars as the Obama camp spent $2.2 million and the McCain team spent $1.7 million.
Florida - where Tampa, Orlando and Miami are three of Obama's six busiest TV advertising markets nationwide - attracted the second highest spending. Obama $2.2 million, while the McCain camp spent $659,000.
Virginia ranked fifth among all states after Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Obama out-advertised McCain in Virginia, $2 million to $547,000.
North Carolina ranked eighth, but the advertising dollars there were even more lop-sided. Obama spent $1.2 million, while McCain spent $148,000.
Obama's busiest six markets for airing ads were Las Vegas, Tampa, Denver, Orlando, Milwaukee, and Miami. McCain's six busiest markets were Denver, Las Vegas, Green Bay, Wis., Cleveland, Milwaukee and Reno, Nev.
Despite spending $1.2 million in Michigan, McCain by Thursday pulled his campaign out of the state.
While the study found that "nearly 100 percent" of McCain's TV ads were negative last week, compared to 34 percent for Obama, it also reported that both candidates' campaigns have been more negative on TV than their 2004 predecessors, President Bush and Democratic Sen. John Kerry.
During all of 2004, 64 percent of the Republican Bush campaign's ads were negative, while to date 73 percent of McCain's have been. And 34 percent of Kerry's ads were negative, compared to 61 percent of Obama's ad so far.
States where both Barack Obama and John McCain spent money for local TV advertising from | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| * These figures to not include national cable TV buys. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SOURCE: Wisconsin Advertising Project |