Flemington, NJ September 19, 2008 – A new national focus group among 312 self-reported Democrats, Republicans and Independents, revealed that after viewing the new Obama “Fundamentals” economic ad, favorable ratings decreased for both candidates, especially among Independents.
The study was conducted by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) on September 18, to obtain Americans’ perceptions of a new ad by Barack Obama, which attacks John McCain’s economic policies.
“The “Fundamentals” ad is a classic attack ad that had a little impact among undecided voters, and strengthened support among some Democrats,” commented Glenn Kessler, president and CEO, HCD Research. “Surprisingly, the automated response curves for believability suggested that even Democrats had problems with the veracity of parts of the ad.”
The ad earned Barack Obama a Political Communications Impact Score (PCIS) of 16 and John McCain received a score of 4.8, resulting in a net score of 11.2 for Barack Obama. The scores can be compared to a mean score of 10.3 for previously tested Obama ads and 7.4 for previously tested McCain ads. To date, the total mean score for all previously tested ads is 8.7.
Voter movement, which is reflected in the PCIS, is shown below based on voter preference before and after viewing the ad.
|
|
Total |
Democrat |
Republican |
Independent |
||||
|
(n=312) |
(n=103) |
(n=103) |
(n=106) |
|||||
|
Before |
After |
Before |
After |
Before |
After |
Before |
After |
|
|
Barack Obama |
43% |
46% |
80% |
83% |
9% |
12% |
41% |
45% |
|
John McCain |
39% |
38% |
4% |
4% |
74% |
74% |
39% |
38% |
|
I don't know |
18% |
15% |
17% |
14% |
17% |
15% |
21% |
17% |
Favorability for Candidates Pre/Post viewing ad:
| Obama | Pre | Post |
| All Responders | 56% | 53% |
| Independents | 61% | 56% |
| McCain | ||
| All Responders | 55% | 51% |
| Independents | 58% | 51% |
The emotional response to the ad was highly negative among all parties.
|
|
Total |
Registered |
Registered Republican |
Registered Independent |
|
27% |
26% |
31% |
23% |
|
9% |
15% |
4% |
8% |
|
19% |
23% |
20% |
13% |
|
37% |
24% |
47% |
39% |
|
17% |
17% |
14% |
19% |
|
35% |
40% |
30% |
35% |
|
16% |
17% |
15% |
16% |
|
4% |
5% |
5% |
2% |
|
3% |
4% |
2% |
4% |
The PCIS is a metric scoring system designed to gauge the effectiveness of political communications by generating a score for each candidate to monitor changes in voter perceptions. The PCIS score is derived from the change in voters’ support and the extent that the support shifts. To view scores and results of recent studies go to: http://www.mediacurves.com/PCIS/
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. 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.
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 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
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