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Flemington, NJ, August 14, 2008 – Results of a national focus group among 308 Americans revealed that independent voters viewed John McCain as less favorable after viewing one of his new ads.
The study was conducted during August 13-14, among self-reported Democrats, Republicans and independents by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) to obtain Americans’ perceptions of a new ad which portrays Barack Obama as a celebrity figure.
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.
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:
Which of the following best describes your overall opinion of John McCain in the 2008 Presidential Election?
| Prior to Viewing the Ad | After Viewing the Ad | |||
| Democrats | Democrats | |||
| Very Favorable | 4% | Very Favorable | 4% | |
| Mostly Favorable | 17% | Mostly Favorable | 16% | |
| Mostly Unfavorable | 44% | Mostly Unfavorable | 24% | |
| Very Unfavorable | 36% | Very Unfavorable | 56% | |
| Republicans | Republicans | |||
| Very Favorable | 36% | Very Favorable | 33% | |
| Mostly Favorable | 46% | Mostly Favorable | 46% | |
| Mostly Unfavorable | 14% | Mostly Unfavorable | 16% | |
| Very Unfavorable | 4% | Very Unfavorable | 5% | |
| Independents | Independents | |||
| Very Favorable | 10% | Very Favorable | 9% | |
| Mostly Favorable | 32% | Mostly Favorable | 27% | |
| Mostly Unfavorable | 37% | Mostly Unfavorable | 32% | |
| Very Unfavorable | 21% | Very Unfavorable | 32% | |
Republicans reported positive scores for McCain on all 8 attributes before and after viewing the ad. Among Democrats, he received negative scores on 7 out of 8 attributes prior to viewing the ad, and increasingly 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 and increasingly negative scores after viewing 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 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.
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