30-Second Politics: Political Advertising in the Eighties

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Advertising overwhelms news coverage. That is the essence of the point Montague Kern drives home repeatedly throughout her insightful examination of political advertising in the eighties. . . . Any professional interested in political advertising would profit from reading this book. It also would be useful to an undergraduate class on political communication or advertising. Journal of Communication Kern's work joins a spate of books published in the 1980s on the nature, production, effect, and importance of televised political advertising in US elections. Not, however, old wine in a new bottle, it makes a distinct contribution in three respects. First, other works typically focus on spot advertising in only one type of electoral contest, primarily presidential, senatorial, or gubernatorial; Kern examines political ads at all electoral levels, in representative regions, and in a variety of mass media markets. Second, Kern employs multiple data gathering techniques beyond conventional content analysis of ads or surveys of voters' responses--interviews, a Delphic panel, and selected semiotic approaches. Finally, the book addresses changes in the character and impact of televised political spots since the 1970s, arguing that documentary news styles in ads have been replaced by those of commercial strategy of `touching someone.' Choice In this age of the media campaign where television is Americans' preferred source of candidate information, Montague Kern offers insightful scrutiny of political advertisements from 1972 to the present. This book closely examines a sample of ads and news coverage in the last stage of the 1984 presidential election, and in senatorial, gubernatorial, and house elections in four geographically diverse markets. Kern interviews campaign consultants as well as campaign managers and outlines the significant changes in political advertising over the past two decades. She finds, on the basis of an ad sample, that most competitive senatorial and gubernatorial races in 1986 used negative advertising. The book goes on to explain the rise of negative advertising in the presidential race of 1988. In an era in which media consultants are increasingly assuming primary responsibility for press relations, the study demonstrates that ads can overwhelm news coverage and serve many purposes in addition to providing voters with campaign information. The informed general reader seeking a better understanding of the political advertisement phenomenon, journalists who cover political campaigns, as well as scholars in communications and political science, will find 30-Second Politics invaluable reading.

Reviews

." . . an evocative, ambitious, informative study."-David L. Paletz Professor, Department of Political Science Duke University
." . . an impressive volume of data and considerable analysis brought to bear on it. Kern has done an excellent job of integrating content analysis data with interview material."-Lynda Lee Kaid Professor of Communication The University of Oklahoma
"Montague Kern generates light rather than heat in her thoughtful analysis of the theory and practice of recent political advertising. Anyone who wants to understand where we have been--and where we are headed--in this volatile field, will benefit from her work."-Larry Sabato Professor of Political Science University of Virginia, Charlottesville
.,."this is a thorough book replete with substantial illustrations supported by a solid research base. Anyone interested in political advertising and where it may be headed in the nineties will want to read Kern's text. Anyone actually involved in political campaigning-locally, regionally, or nationally-should read this book. It is that good."-Presidential Studies Quarterly
...this is a thorough book replete with substantial illustrations supported by a solid research base. Anyone interested in political advertising and where it may be headed in the nineties will want to read Kern's text. Anyone actually involved in political campaigning-locally, regionally, or nationally-should read this book. It is that good.-Presidential Studies Quarterly
Although this is a scholarly work, it will be (or should be) required reading by all political campaign managers and media consultants; for it is full of information and insights, all supported by evidence, about what works and what doesn't in political campaigns.-American Political Science Review
This thoroughly researched and well written volume deals with the 1984 and 1988 presidential campaign advertising. . . . The most important trends about which Professor Kern writes are the dominant role taken in campaigns by both negative advertising and emotionally based feel good' advertising (as well as its negative counterparts). In campaign advertising in the 1980s, Professor Kern finds three major camps of philosophy about political advertisings. She states (p. 24): The emotional' school resembled commercial advertising most closely and relied most heavily on visual and aural affects. The new informational school relied heavily on such techniques, while viewing itself as more language based, in the sense of devoting more attention to clarifying candidate issue positions. The quick response school was the least oriented to entertainment techniques and high-quality visuals and took particular advantage of a factual' format that drew heavily on news. . . .'-Et Cetera
..."this is a thorough book replete with substantial illustrations supported by a solid research base. Anyone interested in political advertising and where it may be headed in the nineties will want to read Kern's text. Anyone actually involved in political campaigning-locally, regionally, or nationally-should read this book. It is that good."-Presidential Studies Quarterly
"Although this is a scholarly work, it will be (or should be) required reading by all political campaign managers and media consultants; for it is full of information and insights, all supported by evidence, about what works and what doesn't in political campaigns."-American Political Science Review
"This thoroughly researched and well written volume deals with the 1984 and 1988 presidential campaign advertising. . . . The most important trends about which Professor Kern writes are the dominant role taken in campaigns by both negative advertising and emotionally based feel good' advertising (as well as its negative counterparts). In campaign advertising in the 1980s, Professor Kern finds three major camps of philosophy about political advertisings. She states (p. 24): The emotional' school resembled commercial advertising most closely and relied most heavily on visual and aural affects. The new informational school relied heavily on such techniques, while viewing itself as more language based, in the sense of devoting more attention to clarifying candidate issue positions. The quick response school was the least oriented to entertainment techniques and high-quality visuals and took particular advantage of a factual' format that drew heavily on news. . . .'"-Et Cetera

Author Bio

MONTAGUE KERN is Assistant Professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Rutgers University. She is co-author of The Kennedy Crises: The Press, The Presidency and Foreign Policy.