Flemington, NJ, June 24, 2008 – Results from a new national study among 303 self-reported Democrats, Republicans and independents revealed that Republicans and Independents increased their support for Senator Barack Obama after viewing his new ad.

The study was conducted by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) during June 23-24, to obtain Americans’ perceptions of a new Barack Obama ad titled “The Country I Love.”

While viewing the video, participants indicated their levels of believability by moving their mouse from left to right on a continuum. The responses were recorded in quarter-second intervals and reported in the form of curves. Participants were also asked pre- and post-viewing questions regarding their support for Barack Obama. To view detailed results and believability curves, go to: www.mediacurves.com

Among the study findings:

If the 2008 Presidential Election was held today who would you vote for?

Which of the following best describes your overall opinion of Barack Obama?

• Among political parties, the emotions most felt by Democrats while watching the ad were “hopeful” (50%) and “skeptical” (15%), compared to Republicans, who reported “skeptical” (45%) and “hopeful” (16%) as the emotions most felt, and independents who reported “skeptical” (29%) and “hopeful” (27%) as the emotions most felt.

The Media Curves web site provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular and controversial media events and advertisements.
  
Editors/Reporters: For more information on the study, or to speak with Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research or Chris Borick, Ph.D., director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, please contact Vince McGourty, HCD Research, at (908) 483-9121 or (vince.mcgourty@hcdi.net).

HCD Research is a communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ.  The company's services include traditional and web-based marketing and communications research.  For additional information on HCD Research, access the company’s web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393.  Headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, MCIPO is a respected source of public opinion data on local, state and national issues. For additional information on Muhlenberg College, go to www.muhlenberg.edu.