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Flemington, NJ, August 5, 2008 – Results from a new national focus group conducted among 306 self-reported Republicans, Democrats and independents revealed that independents expressed a slight increase in support for Barack Obama after viewing his new energy ad.

The communications research study was conducted by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion during August 4-5, to obtain Americans’ views on an energy ad by Barack Obama, which insinuates that John McCain has accepted $2 million in campaign donations from big oil companies.

While viewing the ad, 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. The participants’ emotions were measured using the Ayer Emotion Battery. Participants were also asked pre- and post-viewing questions. To view believability curves and detailed results go to: www.mediacurves.com.

Among the study findings: 

If the 2008 Presidential Election was held today, which of the following best describes who you would vote for?

Emotions Most Felt Among All Parties While Viewing the Ad

• Among political parties, the emotions most felt by Republicans while watching the ad were “skepticism” (63%) and “anger” (9%), compared to Democrats, who reported “inspiration” (22%) and “skepticism” (17%) as the emotions most felt. Independents reported “skepticism” (34%) and “inspiration” (18%) as the emotions most felt while watching the ad.

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; 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 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