Flemington, NJ, October 30, 2008 – According to a new national study among 303 self-reported Democrats, Republicans and Independents the intensity of support among Independents increased for Barack Obama and decreased for John McCain after viewing a new ad by Barack Obama.

The study was conducted by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) during October 29, to obtain Americans’ perceptions of a new ad by Barack Obama that focuses on John McCain’s attack ads on Obama.

The ad earned Barack Obama a Political Communications Impact Score (PCIS) of 9.4 and John McCain received a score of 4.4, resulting in a net score of 5.0 for Barack Obama. The scores can be compared to a mean score of 8.8 for previously tested Obama  ads and 7.5 for previously tested Obama ads.  To date, the total mean score for all previously tested ads is 8.1.

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/

Among the findings:

Among Independents who intend to vote for Barack Obama, the intensity of their support for Obama increased slightly.  Conversely, while the number of Independents who intend to vote for McCain increased, the strength of that support decreased slightly.

John McCain’s favorability ratings took a slight dip among Independents after viewing the ad, while Barack Obama’s favorability ratings remained the same.

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).