Explaining Perceptions of Advertising Tone

• Author: Erika Franklin Fowler,Travis N. Ridout
• Published date: 01 March 2012
• DOI: 10.1177/1065912910388189
• Date: 01 March 2012
• Subject Matter: Articles

Political Research Quarterly
65(1) 62 –75
Explaining Perceptions of
© 2012 University of Utah
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Advertising Tone
DOI: 10.1177/1065912910388189
http://prq.sagepub.com
Travis N. Ridout1 and Erika Franklin Fowler2
Abstract
The authors investigate whether the news media and the tone of actual ads aired during a political campaign influence
people’s perceptions of campaign ad tone. Using data on the content of political advertising, local television news
coverage, and local newspaper coverage in nine races in five midwestern states in 2006, the authors discover that
perceptions of ad tone respond to both exposure to advertising and exposure to local news media. Both positive and
negative advertising drive tone perceptions, and the impact of ad coverage depends not on its volume or mentions of
tone but on whether that coverage is framed strategically or not.
Keywords
political communication, campaign ad, tone, exposure
Recent scholarship has done wonders for the reputation of
which people are exposed by amplifying the extent to
the thirty-second political ad. Once charged with causing
which individuals are exposed to particular spots. Thus,
voters to stay home on Election Day (Ansolabehere, Iyengar,
increased exposure to news media coverage of political
and Valentino 1994; Ansolabehere and Iyengar 1995),
advertising might result in more negative perceptions of a
political ads are now seen as tools that either mobilize vot-
campaign ad tone. Second, news reporters may frame or
ers (Wattenberg and Brians 1999; Franz et al. 2007) or, at
“package” their coverage of political advertising in a spe-
the very least, fail to demobilize them (Lau, Sigelman, and
cific light. More to the point, research suggests that stra-
Rovner 2007). Moreover, ads are now seen as promoting
tegic frames increase cynicism, which may lead citizens
voter learning (Ridout et al. 2004) and doing little to tar-
to believe that candidates are attacking more than they
nish people’s attitudes about government and the demo-
actually are. Of course, a final possibility is that the media
cratic system (Jackson, Mondak, and Huckfelt 2009). But
do not influence perceptions of advertising tone, that the
before scholars collectively go too far in praising political
reality of the advertising that people experience firsthand
advertising, it is worth considering one other, often over-
on their television sets trumps the impression of the ad
looked avenue by which advertising may influence the
campaign given by the news media.
voter: news media coverage of these advertisements. Media
In sum, our research asks whether it is the tone of the
coverage of political advertising is quite extensive in most
ads to which people are exposed on television that chiefly
campaigns and represents an indirect route by which
drives perceptions of advertising tone or whether the news
advertising might influence perceptions of advertising
media play a central role in the process. If the latter, by
and, more specifically, perceptions of its tone. Yet to date,
which route do the news media have an impact: by increas-
scholars know little about the extent or effect of such cover-
ing “secondary” exposure to negative advertising, by fram-
age. We therefore ask whether voter perceptions of adver-
ing their coverage to focus on the strategy and game of
tising tone might be related to the media coverage of that
the campaign, or both?
advertising in addition to the tone of the paid ads that are
This research thus speaks centrally to the extent of
actually aired. In doing so, we assess the extent of the news
media influence in political campaigns—and the ability
media’s influence—their ability (or inability) to shape the
of the news media to trump reality—but it also is important
reality of the advertising campaign that people see on their
own television screens—and the way in which that influ-
1Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA
2
ence might take place.
Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA
There are two main routes by which the news media
Corresponding Author:
may influence perceptions of advertising tone. First, and
Travis N. Ridout, Washington State University, Department of
most directly, because the media disproportionately focus
Political Science, 816 Johnson Tower, Troy Lane, Pullman,
their attention on negative ads (Ridout and Smith 2008;
WA 99164-4880
Fowler and Ridout 2009), they upset the balance of ads to
Email: tnridout@wsu.edu

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Ridout and Fowler
63
given the potential of perceptions of ad negativity to
to the actual tone of the race over time, as measured by
influence people’s behaviors and attitudes toward the
national news media (Sigelman and Voeten 2004). Work
political system. Some may question this possibility given
by Sides and colleagues (2005, 15, 25) found that the
the current consensus that negative advertising has no ill
tone of advertising as measured by coders was a signifi-
effects on the electorate (Lau, Sigelman, and Rovner
cant predictor of perceptions of tone among survey respon-
2007; Jackson, Mondak, and Huckfelt 2009). It may very
dents in three different gubernatorial races, leading them
well be true that exposure to paid advertising does not
to state that “public perceptions of negativity do in fact
influence citizens’ attitudes toward government or the elec-
accord with reality.” That said, the “true” tone of advertis-
toral system. Indeed, there is a vast literature that investi-
ing explained only a small percentage of the variance in
gates the relationship between the tone of advertising
perceptions of tone, leading them to conclude that there
aired and people’s political efficacy and attitudes toward
was still some slippage between the ads individuals are
government. But these findings do not preclude the pos-
exposed to and how they perceive advertising tone.1
sibility that when people perceive ad negativity, their atti-
Another study, although focusing on campaign tone as
tudes toward the political system are negatively influenced.
opposed to ad tone, casts some doubt on the claim that ad
Indeed, the small amount of existing research that exam-
tone and perceptions of ad tone go hand in hand. Sigelman
ines how perceptions of ad negativity influence voters
and Kugler (2003) noted that there was little agreement
tends to agree that the impact is deleterious. Increased
among survey respondents living in the same state in how
perceptions of campaign negativity are associated with
they characterized the tone of the gubernatorial campaign
lower efficacy (Craig and Kane 2000; Thorson et al. 2000),
in their state. The implication is that ad tone and percep-
lower trust in government (Craig and Kane 2000; Leshner
tions of ad tone are largely independent. There are, how-
and Thorson 2000), a decreased likelihood of voting
ever, a couple of problems with this study. First, some of
(Crigler, Just, and Belt 2002), a more negative public mood
the variation in perceptions of tone across individuals
(Leshner and Thorson 2000), and more negative evalua-
may have resulted from their being interviewed at differ-
tions of the candidates (Thorson et al. 2000). The only
ent dates during the campaign (interviewing began in late
positive to come from greater perceptions of negativity is
September and continued until Election Day), leaving
increased knowledge of the candidates (Craig, Kane, and
open the possibility that the variation in perceptions of
Gainous 2005).
tone was reflective of true variation in message tone over
To investigate these ideas, we employ public opinion
time. Second, the authors assumed that all individuals had
data from nine U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races from
the same exposure to campaign messages, when, in fact,
2006 and match up citizens’ perceptions of ad tone with
exposure to such messages varies greatly, depending on the
the actual ads to which they were exposed along with
media market in which one lives and one’s television view-
media coverage of that advertising. In the end, we find that
ing habits. In other words, some of the variation in per ce-
the actual tone of advertising to which people are exposed
ptions of tone may have resulted from true variation in the
influences perceptions of ad tone and that media coverage
tone of advertising to which individuals were exposed,
of that advertising has an additional effect on such percep-
variation that is not being picked up in the authors’ research
tions. Moreover, our research yields a couple of surprising
designs.
conclusions about the antecedents of ad tone perceptions.
One issue with all of the limited research explaining
First, both positive and negative advertising—not just
perceptions of ad tone is it fails to account for one other
negative advertising—drive people’s perceptions of the
way in which citizens may learn about the content of
tone of advertising. Second, the news media’s influence
political advertising: through news media coverage of that
on perceptions of tone depends critically on the extent to
advertising. This last point, which is at the heart of our
which coverage is framed strategically.
own research, is not a minor one, as (1) scholars have doc-
umented that the news media pay tremendous attention to
Perceptions of Campaign
political advertising when covering a political...