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The Television Advertising Battleground in the 2004 Presidential Election

2005; Routledge; Volume: 6; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14616700500057205

1469-9699

Lynda Lee Kaid, Daniela V. Dimitrova,

Rhetoric and Communication Studies

This article discusses the televised political advertising used in the 2004 US presidential campaign. Using content analysis to describe 315 television advertisements sponsored by George W. Bush, John Kerry, and independent groups, the study found that both candidates focused more on issues rather than image in their campaign advertising, but differences were found in the top issues addressed by each campaign. For instance, terrorism and defense spending were the major topics for Bush, whereas Kerry's ads focused more on health care and the economy. Advocacy groups played a significant role in the campaign advertising battle, and their ads were more negative than the candidate ads.