Wisconsin Advertising Project to analyze 2008 political ads

All evidence points to 2008 being a record year for political ad spending.

With competitive presidential primaries in both parties, and no incumbent running, there is a high likelihood that major party nominees will bypass federal funds and spending limits for the general election.

In addition, the Supreme Court decision in the case of Wisconsin Right to Life vs. FEC is almost certain to open the door to more interest group advertising on television, and advertising from other sources is likely to flood the nation as a whole — the Midwest swing states in particular.

The University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Wisconsin Advertising Project, using data obtained from the TNS Media Intelligence Campaign Media Analysis Group (TNSMI/CMAG), will again code and analyze nearly all of the political advertising that is aired in 2008 federal and gubernatorial races across the country.

The project, considered the single most important and credible source of information on broadcast campaign advertising, will be funded in 2008 by a $298,945 grant from the Joyce Foundation, which funds groups working to strengthen public policies and improve the quality of life in the Great Lakes Area.

In 2008, the project will again code political television advertising for sponsors, issues, tone, and numerous other characteristics — all in real time.

While most of the attention will be focused on the presidential race in 2008, it will also track candidate, party, and interest group advertisements in congressional, gubernatorial and other down ballot races nationwide, with a particular focus on the Midwest and the five states that comprise the Midwest Democracy Network (Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.) Findings will be released in a series of real-time reports over the course of the campaign.

Since 2000, the Wisconsin Advertising Project has gathered, processed, coded, and made available to the news media and scholarly community tracking data originally collected by TNSMI/CMAG. This commercial firm specializes in providing detailed, real-time tracking information to corporate and political clients. This tracking data represents the most comprehensive and systematic collection on the content and targeting of political advertisements.

Ken Goldstein, UW–Madison professor of political science, will again direct the project. Goldstein will be available to work with media and policymakers during the entire course of the 2008 election year.

"We are grateful for the support from the Joyce Foundation and are excited to again be able to work with TNSMI/CMAG to provide compelling information on the sponsors, content, and targeting of televised political advertising," Goldstein says. "If you care about money and politics and how citizens receive political information, there is no more important way to follow the money and understand the nature of political speech in modern politics than to look at who is saying what, where and how many times on television."

Lawrence Hansen, vice president of the Joyce Foundation and director of its Money and Politics Program, notes that a prime goal of the program is to strengthen and restore public confidence in the political system.

"Following the money spent on television advertising in 2008 will enable voters to see who is spending money to influence election outcomes and what they are saying," Hansen says. "It will shed light on the enforcement and impact of current campaign finance laws, and help federal and state policymakers decide what legislative and regulatory measures may be needed in the future."

TNSMI/CMAG’s Evan Tracey echoed Goldstein’s enthusiasm for the project.

"We are excited to partner once again with Ken and the University of Wisconsin," Tracey says. "And we are equally proud that our data will be used by scholars and journalists, as well as political practitioners."

The project has coded virtually every significant political advertisement broadcast in the top 75 markets in 2000 and in the top 100 media markets from 2001 to 2004.