Evaluating Information in Political Ads
Channel: wattsr10
Date: 25/02/2012

How can voters make informed choices between political candidates? Television commercials convey a message in a brief period of time "typically thirty seconds"and they often depend on the fact that viewers won't think too carefully about the information presented. While this may not be cause for concern in the case of an ad for shampoo or soda, it has greater implications for political ads.

The political commercials from the 2008 campaign are visually sophisticated, combining text, statistics, and a layered use of images, words, and music. These ads present a challenge of absorption, which may distract viewers from questioning the veracity of the information they are receiving. For this reason, it is important for young people approaching the voting age to learn how to make sense of the often contradictory information that is presented in campaign ads.