Money DOES Make The World Go 'Round...At Least According to Political Ad Spending

In a story by Audie Cornish on NPR last week (see: Political TV Ad Spending Expected To Top $1 Billion), the numbers could not lie. There has already been over $1 billion spent on political advertisements this election season, and experts expect spending to reach close to $2 million by the end of the political races this year. Elizabeth Wilner of Kantar Media spoke with Cornish about who the true "losers" are in this sea of negative ads. Namely, those of us disturbed by the abrasiveness of these ads, which typically consist of one candidate bashing another (instead of say, educating the public on their political agenda), and also those companies who's ads get "bumped" from time slots because political groups pay top dollar to get their ads on the air. This latter fact paints a picture of why there has been such a massive amount of money spent on ad space. Nearly 30% of these ads are being paid for by outside political groups, which has created a "Wild West" of political advertising, as they do not have to conform to the same rules and regulations that political groups have to when airing ads (such as equal access and airtime). Wilner relates this "Wild West" to eBay. She states that the outside political groups (or PACs) get caught up in a bidding war because there is a limited amount of ad space. She states that an ad slot isn't technically sold until the ad airs, therefore up until the very last minute, political groups can stay in the bidding war until the highest bidder comes out on top. Within this setting, TV stations are the real winners, getting top dollar for air time, and they have no need to worry about equal and fair air time for all candidates (just how much they are willing to pay). Politicians understand that TV is their main source of getting their word out to the general public, and they are willing to do whatever it takes (money, money, money, and tearing their opponent down) to get what they want: votes.

Although these ads are dated (2012), see below for examples of "sleazy" political ads. Note not one has anything to do with the politician's political agenda that paid for the advertisement, but instead only highlights everything bad associated with an opposing candidate. Sad stuff, if you ask me.