An audio snafu briefly disrupted the first Democratic primary debate last night, co-hosted by NBCUniversal, but it didn’t impact NBCU’s ad inventory for the two-hour telecast, despite what moderator Chuck Todd seemed to indicate later in the program. The incident occurred shortly before 10 p.m. ET Wednesday during the debate, which aired on NBC, MSNBC…
The 2020 election cycle is projected to generate $6 billion in political advertising from presidential, federal and state candidates and their campaigns, according to a new study from Kantar, a consultancy company. Digital ad spend is expected to grow substantially, accounting for 20% of the total spend, about $1.2 billion. Despite declining linear ratings, broadcast…
Pedestrians in New York may have noticed a startling sight while walking the streets yesterday. Installations made to resemble children sleeping in small cages, wrapped in reflective blankets and accompanied by the message “#NoKidsInCages” were briefly installed around the city before being taken down by police. The installations combine the unsettling imagery resembling children wrapped…
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign is approaching digital advertising this time around in a whole new way compared to his 2016 strategy. A new ad targeting Iowa voters–released today on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter–is just one example of how the campaign has prioritized creating videos that are of “TV-quality,” said…
Soldier turned political hopeful MJ Hegar exploded onto the scene in 2018 with a video called “Doors” that set a new bar for high-impact storytelling in campaign ads. Running for the U.S. House in a deep-red Texas district against a veteran Republican lawmaker, Hegar succeeded in closing the seemingly impossible race to a narrow 3%…
Turning a government report into a work of literature is not an uncommon occurrence. There are many in print, ranging from sobering (The Warren Report on JFK’s assassination and the 9/11 Commission Report) to the more salacious (Ken Starr’s findings on the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky affair). Creating a cover for these kinds of books, at…
Prior to the 2016 presidential election, a stiff, minimalist red hat with white lettering would equate to little more than an eccentric fashion choice. But in the years since, a camp emblazoned with “Make America Great Again” has become one of the most polarizing symbols in American politics–representing a vague Reagan Era-esque ambition to some,…
At first glance, the marketing industry appears strong as ever heading into 2019. Digital marketing roles have doubled in 2012, and ad agency jobs are nearing an all-time high for the first time in nearly 20 years. But despite the industry’s robust overall position, in-house marketing divisions and ad agencies are still grappling with the…
Political advertising underwent a dramatic evolution in the lead-up to the 2018 midterm elections, with emotionally potent narratives helping launch several newcomers onto the national stage. While not all these candidates were as successful as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whose campaign video “The Courage to Change” helped propel her to an unexpected primary victory and then a…
On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced legislation that could give the Federal Trade Commission authority to update the nation’s privacy laws for the internet era. The American Data Dissemination Act, as it’s called, would task the FTC to update the nation’s 1970s privacy laws. However, unlike online privacy bills introduced last year, Rubio’s…
Coca-Cola bottles have become well known in recent years for the wide variety of names found on their labels, and the brand has even empowered fans to order their own custom-printed names. Now a group of New York creatives is using that offering to spread awareness of a heartbreaking story from the U.S. border. The…
Google CEO Sundar Pichai defended the company’s data collection practices and insisted that the company’s algorithms in its search results were absent of political bias considerations, he told lawmakers on Tuesday in a House hearing. Pichai told lawmakers he was a “technology optimist … because I believe in people and their ability to use technology…
“What can a citizen do?” It’s a question that depends a lot on who’s asking it. A senator might use it to rally their base. A civics teacher might ask a class for a test. Or, it might be something asked in exasperation by anyone exhausted by the past two years of politics: what really…
As the dust settles on the 2018 midterm elections, a few things have come into focus. One is that while this was maybe not a fully blue wave (depends on which historical perspective you use as a benchmark), the Democrats harnessed voter anger against the current administration into a solid win by capturing the House…
There was something decidedly different about this year’s wave of political ads. Traditional methods made way for compelling, breakthrough work that used digital storytelling to strong effect. First-time and underdog candidates especially disrupted not only the campaigning machine but how candidates connect with the public through their advertising. Longer-form spots with more of a documentary…
In case you’ve only heard this a mere nine times within the last hour, allow us to be the tenth: tomorrow’s midterms are the most important election our country has seen in a while. It’s an observation that has escaped virtually nobody, and it is especially recognized among Democrats, who are fighting tirelessly for a…
Television remains king of political advertising, according to new research from Adobe. A new report commissioned by Adobe and provided exclusively to Adweek suggests that the older you are, the more likely you are to have seen a political ad–and that it’s more likely you saw that ad on television. The reverse is true for…
If you like limited-time pop-ups that make for great Instagram fodder and seem to attract every celebrity in America, then look no further than the Museum of Voting. Happening only on Nov. 6, it has the vibe of an immersive democratic experience where your decisions have highly realistic consequences–because it is, and they do. In…
If politics and civic responsibility are such passionate topics, why is voting such a solo experience? Sure, you cast your vote in private, but that doesn’t mean Nov. 6 can’t be a social–or perhaps even romantic–occasion. That’s the idea behind Your Voting Date, a light-hearted but insightful side project from two young McCann New York…
You could probably use a little levity after last night debate’s, so here’s some political comedy from Katy Perry, who suggests that you vote in November no matter how you look or what you’re wearing (or not wearing).
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