Follow MediaCurves™:
Share This Story:
Send This Study to a Friend
Bookmark this page
Digg
Share on Facebook
LinkedIn

Voter Support Remains Virtually Unchanged After Viewing New John McCain Energy Ad


McCain Ad - Pump
Democrats and Independents Express Skepticism; Republicans are Inspired
 
Flemington, NJ, July 23, 2008 – According to a new national study among 304 self-reported Democrats, Republicans and independents voter support for both John McCain and Barack Obama remained unchanged after participants viewed a new ad sponsored by Senator John McCain.
 
The study was conducted by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) during July 22-23, to obtain Americans’ perceptions of a new ad by John McCain focusing on off-shore oil drilling.  
 
While viewing the ad, participants indicated their levels of interest and 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 John McCain. To view detailed results and believability curves, go to: www.mediacurves.com
 
Respondents were also asked to evaluate the candidate on 8 personal attributes before and after viewing the ad. They could rate the candidate for each attribute using a negative and a positive scale. 
 
Among the study findings:
 
Undecided voters expressed a slight increase in intensity of support for John McCain with 6% moving from “leaning” toward the senator to “strongly leaning” toward voting for John McCain after viewing the ad.
 
Republicans reported positive scores for McCain on all 8 attributes before and after viewing the ad. Among Democrats, he received negative scores on 5 out of 8 attributes prior to viewing the ad, and negative scores on 7 out of the 8 attributes after viewing the ad. Independents reported negative scores for 4 attributes prior to viewing the ad; however Independents’ scores moderately improved after viewing the ad.
 
“Please specify how much you agree/disagree with the following statements about John McCain.”
 
Before Viewing the Ad

Mean Responses on a Scale of:
-100% (Completely Disagree) to +100% (Completely Agree) Scale
Registered
Democrat
(n=100)
Registered Republican
(n=102)
Registered
Independent
(n=102)
Total
(n=304)
He is hard working.
  21%
 56%
 24%
 33%
He is honest
 0%
 43%
   7%
 17%
He is concerned about people like me.
 -26%
 37%
 -14%
   -1%
He is fighting for a change
 -20%
 34%
 -15%
    0%
He will represent my values
 -25%
 40%
 -12%
    1%
He is not tied to special interests
 -29%
 13%
 -23%
 -13%
He is accountable
    1%
 43%
     2%
 15%
He is firm and consistent in his views
   -3%
 37%
    6%
 13%

“Please specify how much you agree/disagree with the following statements about John McCain.”
 
After Viewing the Ad

Mean Responses on a Scale of:
-100% (Completely Disagree) to +100% (Completely Agree) Scale
Registered
Democrat
(n=100)
Registered Republican
(n=102)
Registered
Independent
(n=102)
Total
(n=304)
He is hard working.
   20%
   58%
 25%
 34%
He is honest
 -11%
   46%
   5%
 13%
He is concerned about people like me.
 -22%
 46%
   -5%
 7%
He is fighting for a change
 -15%
 42%
   -7%
 7%
He will represent my values
 -23%
 44%
   -7%
   5%
He is not tied to special interests
 -31%
 17%
   -20%
 -11%
He is accountable
   -4%
 44%
     7%
 16%
He is firm and consistent in his views
 -8%
 44%
    8%
 15%

Emotions Most Felt While Viewing the Ad
 
  • Among political parties, the emotions most felt by Republicans while watching the ad were “inspiration” (42%) and “skepticism” (20%), compared to Democrats, who reported “skepticism” (43%) and “anger” (17%) as the emotions most felt, and independents who reported “skepticism” (38%) and “inspiration” (21%) 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.

 

COMMENTS
Reply Send This Thread to a Friend