Accentuating the negative.

• Author: Lariscy, Ruth Ann Weaver
• Position: Mass Media - Political ads

"... Studies demonstrate that, as time passes, the source of a negative [political advertisement] decays, but its content remains and becomes even more powerful."

BEWARE, Mr. and Ms. American Voter, highly skilled spinmeisters are coming after you--more precisely, your vote with unprecedented negative attack advertising. Despite legislation designed to limit campaign mudslinging, negative advertising began earlier in this presidential race than any other in modern political history. To understand how the marketing consultants are working on you, keep in mind three important items: an ad does not have to be liked to be effective; negative ads help voters make distinctions among candidates: and not all negative ads are created equal.

Voters have a hard time with this first concept. Think for a few minutes about an ad slogan you find really annoying. If you are like most of us, you remember the ad, slogan, and product clearly, even if you disliked the ad intensely when it came on the radio or television. One reason why this type of negative ad works is because it is more complex than a positive one.

A positive ad ("Joe Smith is a war veteran, a patriot, and has true American values.") presents no overt conflict, elicits less rebuttal, and is absorbed easily. While "feel good" commercials can be enjoyable to viewers, they are not particularly informative, educational, or memorable. A positive message glides through the brain in much the same way that water from a garden hose washes easily over a smooth patio--nothing gets in its way, slows it down, or "sticks" very long.

A negative ad, however, sticks in the memory. ("Joe Smith never has served his country. used personal influence to avoid military service, and his commitment to true American values should be questioned.") Negative ads cause voters to think, make comparisons, sort through meanings, and assess the validity of claims. The brain expends more time and energy processing the negative message because of its complexity. A negative message is not smooth. It is like water from a garden hose running through a rocky ravine full of crags and cracks thai make the journey more difficult. The water has to traverse slowly, navigating around obstacles, and sometimes getting stuck in little pools.

Negative information carries an inherent memory bias that the positive variety does not. Consider the following illustration: You walk into a room wearing a new suit and receive 15 compliments. It feels...