For many American consumers, political ads are unlikeable and feel intrusive to their viewing experiences. Frustration often increases as they are exposed to more of these (often negative in tone) ads, particularly in swing states or as election day approaches.
For brand advertisers, this raises the concern of whether airing commercials alongside political ads might have a “contaminating” effect, potentially harming their own messaging. Should brands consider going off the air during periods of intense political advertising to avoid this potential negative halo or backlash? We investigated.
iSpot explored the impact of political advertising on consumer perceptions of both political and non-political ads in a nationwide, statistically balanced poll of nearly 24,000 American viewers aged 18 and older, conducted from August 13 to August 19, 2024 (leading up to the Democratic National Convention).
The key question: Is heightened sensitivity to advertising felt during election years, and if so, does this carry over to the performance of brand ads?
The short answer is no.
As many as 43% of Americans say that non-political ads are okay – or even more likeable in periods when political ads are airing.
23% of Americans admitted to being annoyed by political ads but indicated that these feelings did not carry over to brand ads, while 20% responded that the presence of political ads made them like brand ads even more. 14% also reported feeling a higher sense of trust in what brands were telling them when exposed to political ads.
These survey responses are borne out in iSpot Creative Assessment results. Response to brand advertising (excluding political Pac/party ads) was not negatively impacted during the three-month period preceding the 2016 and 2020 elections¹.
In fact, overall response to (Ace Score) and Likeability of brand advertising was slightly higher pre-election in months political ads were running. Considering that the post-period would include holiday advertising and the lead up to Super Bowl for the following year (“2016 post” actually includes Game Day) when more positive ratings from consumers are common, this is significant. These results suggest less risk than might be presumed for brands concerned about advertising when political ads are also on air.
Beyond likeability, how was viewer attention impacted?
37% of Americans say the presence of political ads makes them pay more attention to advertising.
21% of American viewers report that their attention is increased when viewing any ad in periods in which political ads are on air, and 16% report favoring brand ads with their attention.
This point is corroborated by a study by the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute at the Sheldon B. Lubar School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in cooperation with iSpot.tv.
This study specifically examined the lead-in effects of political ads on following ads, with a key finding being that political ads do not negatively impact ads that follow. In fact, viewers tuned away less after a political advertisement, particularly if the spot following was funny (perhaps viewers are looking for relief). The study was based on 15,000 televisions and nationally broadcast political ads during the 2020 Presidential election².
Were attention levels impacted by demographics?
Younger and ethnic viewer attention is more likely to be impacted by the presence of political ads – but in a positive way.
Respondents 21-35 reported being more attentive to brand/non-political ads in periods with political ad exposure (23%) while another 27% said their attention improves in general. Boomers were the least likely to be impacted, with nearly two in five reporting being consistent in their ad viewing habits despite political advertising.
Significantly more Hispanic, Black/African-American, and Asian viewers reported heightened attention to all advertising preceding presidential elections.
Does an increase in political advertising impact how much attention you pay to other ads?
Of course, there are ad haters as well. A relatively small 10%-11% of all respondents acknowledged that they didn’t trust anything in ads, or that they trusted what brands say less when political advertising is also present.
15% reported feeling some increased annoyance with all advertising when political ads were on air vs 19% reporting a distaste for advertising in general. But this level of ad haters/ad avoiders has been consistent for years both in and out of political cycles.
For brands concerned about the implications of running campaigns at the height of political advertising, these results are encouraging. While there will be haters of ads regardless of the adjacent content, there are some positive indications that brands shouldn’t fear advertising in election season.
Brands can take comfort in historical analysis that shows Attention and perceived Likeability of advertising during periods preceding elections does not decline and may improve somewhat. While humor has been cited as a means to maximize such responses if one’s ad follows a political spot, the real risk to be concerned about is how brands show up when making political or social statements during periods of high discourse in the country.
¹Pre- and post- periods were defined as the three months preceding and including election day, and the three months immediately following election day for each of the years cited. Samples of 2283-2800 ads in each period provide high stability in the data.
²In total, the study investigated ad avoidance for advertising by 2066 brands aired in 2815 programs that ran on 68 television networks. S total of 11,154 unique creatives across these brands were aired 32,159 times following Presidential ads and 2,951,081 following other ads during the period that we study.