Kantar/CMAG

06/29/2022

GOP stays true to Trump in midterm messaging

The GOP pursues a Trumpian ad strategy as the Dems retreat to their traditional strengths. The SCOTUS ruling on Dobbs is also expected to figure heavily in this process between now and November. Read on to learn about the midterm ad war's state of play...

https://www.kantar.com/north-america/inspiration/advertising-media/gop-stays-true-to-trump-in-midterm-messaging

The GOP is doubling down on their 2016 playbook, while the Democrats are backing off progressive messaging that attended their 2020 strategy.

02/23/2022

Push to give Medicare more power on drug prices plays out on airwaves

Medicare RX drug negotiation was a prominent feature of Build Back Better. But BBB's defeat in the Senate did not the end the issue as we at Kantar CMAG have monitored over the past year. Read on to check out our findings re the public advocacy efforts on BOTH sides of this issue...
https://www.kantar.com/north-america/inspiration/advertising-media/push-to-give-medicare-more-power-on-drug-prices-plays-out-on-airwaves

Advertising around the issue of prescription drug prices has been heating up over the past year.

12/13/2021

Manchin, Sinema get a helping hand from moderate PACs

In October, Kantar CMAG looked in on the ad campaigns aimed at influencing the votes of Senators Manchin [WV] and Sinema [AZ]. We found the progressive and moderate wings of the Democratic party closely matched. Since that time, the dynamic has turned. Read on for what it may mean re President Biden's Build Back Better legislation...
https://www.kantar.com/north-america/inspiration/advertising-media/manchin-and-sinema-get-a-helping-hand-from-moderate-pacs

Moderate Democratic groups have upped their political ad spending in the fight over

11/12/2021

Anti-Trump ad strategy falls short in Virginia governor's race

Different strategies led to different outcomes last Tuesday as Virginia and New Jersey held their gubernatorial elections. Read on to learn about the ad campaigns behind the GOP's strong showing...

https://www.kantar.com/north-america/inspiration/advertising-media/anti-trump-ad-strategy-falls-short-in-virginia-race-for-governor

Races in Virginia and New Jersey saw Democrats focus their political advertising around Trump, education, and healthcare.

10/29/2021

Sinema and Manchin feel the heat as advertising ramps up

While most of the country is enjoying a slight respite from political advertising, President Biden's Build Back Better bill has engendered an off-year ad war not often seen in our politics...

https://www.kantar.com/north-america/inspiration/advertising-media/sinema-and-manchin-feel-the-heat-as-advertising-ramps-up

TV stations in two battleground states are enjoying an unexpected windfall.

10/15/2021

Democratic senators Kyrsten Sinema [AZ] and Joe Manchin [WV] have been under fire from the progressive wing of their party due to their not supporting President Biden’s $3.5T infrastructure package. They have also been buoyed with ad buys from the party's moderate faction. Since the beginning of this year, Sen. Sinema has been targeted with $3.1M worth of advertising on 7,791 airings while Sen. Manchin has seen $1.3M worth of advertising directed at him with 7,321 airings.

03/18/2020

How a Political Ad Evolves as It Moves Around America

How do national political campaigns tailor their messaging to states as different as Iowa and South Carolina? How does messaging evolve over the course of a national race?

The Wall Street Journal used CMAG data to answer those exact questions this past week.

https://www.wsj.com/video/how-a-political-ad-evolves-as-it-moves-around-america/A2B7EB99-35F2-4755-97C8-16D2F9517776.html

Candidates spend millions of dollars to run political ads during an election cycle. WSJ followed some of the candidates' ads around America to see what subtle differences there are for certain markets. Photo Composite: Laura Kammermann

12/09/2019

Biden's The Frontrunner. Nobody Told the GOP

Given the GOP's ad messaging thus far in 2019, you'd never know that Joe Biden has enjoyed a consistent double digit lead in the Dem presidential primary...

From Senior Research Analyst Geoffrey Pereira

https://www.kantarmedia.com/us/thinking-and-resources/blog/bidens-the-frontrunner-nobody-told-the-gop

For the entirety of the Democratic presidential primary, former Vice President Joe Biden has been the front-runner in every national poll that has been taken. Currently, he enjoys a 12 point lead in the Real Clear Politics average over his nearest challenger, Senator Bernie Sanders and a 14 point le...

03/29/2019

The 2020 Presidential election is already playing out across all media platforms—see this new digital ad from John Hickenlooper

03/15/2019

Kantar - 2020 Election Ad Spending Already Nearing $1 Million Mark

The 2020 Presidential race is a go, with advertisers spending more months earlier than they did in 2015

The TV ad war is well underway with three candidates on the air since Jan. 1.

03/05/2019

The first Democratic Presidential primary ad of 2019 is here!

Act Now on Climate makes an early ad buy in Iowa to support Washington Governor Jay Inslee in his Presidential bid.

01/18/2019

Majority Forward gets an early start to the 2020 Senate race

Majority Forward is the first outside group to jump into the fray of the 2020 senate races with buys in AZ, CO, IA, GA, ME, and NC. Take a look!

11/02/2018

What the 2018 Campaign Looks Like in Your Hometown

Healthcare is the dominant issue in political ads this cycle, but is that true across the country? Bloomberg takes a look.

If this year feels particularly saturated with ads, it is. There's already been 37% more ads than the last midterm election in 2014.

10/10/2018

Republicans Pull Back in Some Close House Races as Chances of Victory Slip

Take a look at where the GOP is investing their resources as we close in on Election Day

Republican groups have been pulling back in roughly half a dozen tough House races to focus their resources in districts where they see a better chance to defend against a potential midterm surge by Democrats.

07/11/2018

The battle for the Supreme Court begins

The TV ad battle for the next U.S. Supreme Court Justice is on and groups on both sides are making their voices heard. Learn more about advertising during past vacancies and what the next few months hold.

With the recent announcement of Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement, and the subsequent nomination Brett Kavanaugh as his replacement, Kantar Media/CMAG has already monitored Supreme Court advertising from several groups.

05/24/2018

Republican Voices Dominate Early Ads in Florida’s Marquee Senate Race

Florida's Senate race is projected to be one of the most competitive in the country, but so far there are some sharp differences in advertising activity on each side.

Florida Republican Governor Rick Scott is off to an early and expensive start in advertising his U.S. Senate bid, spending more than $1 million a week on TV spots for a race that could determine whether the GOP keeps control of the chamber.

05/10/2018

It's Republicans, Not Democrats, Who Are Focusing on Trump in Campaign Ads

What's the hot topic for Republicans this cycle? So far, it's Trump.

Based on what you hear from the chattering class in DC, you’d think that Democrats are all but committed to running on nothing but an “anti-Trump” message in 2018. Democratic leaders, including cable TV regular Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), implore their candidates to “not take the bait” on pus...

12/13/2017

There was some serious money behind Doug Jones' victory in Alabama yesterday.

Top 5 advertisers in the AL Senate special general election:

Jones: $7,803,224
Highway 31: $2,414,816
Moore: $1,336,009
America First Action: $488,636
Proven Conservative PAC: $200,825

12/06/2017

California Wildfires Lead to Small Brushfire on NorCal Airwaves

As wildfires continue to rage in California, we’re seeing a new focus for legal advertisers.

That trial lawyers often target pharmaceutical companies and medical device makers with their advertising is a well-established fact that Kantar Media/CMAG has documented over the years. In terms of targeting specific industries, it is the most target-rich environment and as the U.S. Chamber study o...

09/21/2017

Russian Ad Buys on Facebook Prompt Calls to End Wild West on Web

Digital ad dollars are increasing but the insights into advertisers haven't evolved in years. After the 2016 election, should more data be made available?

Social media platforms are capturing a growing share of political advertising in the U.S. and the revelation that Russian interests used Facebook to influence the presidential election are stirring calls for greater transparency.

08/25/2017

The San Francisco Police Officers Association invokes global t...

This new ad from the San Francisco Police Officers Association shows the close ties between internaional events and local policy. With the upcoming protests in San Francisco, it is clear police groups are using new media forms to spread awareness.

06/22/2017

How GA-6 became the most expensive House race ever

Big winners (other than Karen Handel) in Tuesday's election? Local TV stations.

On June 20th, the race to fill the United States House seat vacated by Tom Price came to an end with Republican Karen Handel defeating Democrat Jon Ossoff in Georgia's 6th Congressional District special election. In what was a tough and tight race, both sides and their allies poured money into the c...

06/07/2017

California Weedkiller MDL Launches Ad Activity Where Agribusiness Giant Lives

An action under California's Proposition 65 has prompted a spike in legal advertising about a specific chemical.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer [“IARC”], a subsidiary of the United Nations’ World Health Organization, published their finding identifying glyphosate as a “probable human carcinogen” in March 2015. Glyphosate is one of the active ingredients in Monsanto’s “Round Up” w**d killer- on...

05/26/2017

Who's Winning the TV Ad Messaging Wars on Health Care Reform?

The AHCA ad war has begun. Who is winning? How does it compare to Obamcare?

The fight for Obamacare repeal is moving on two separate, but parallel tracks. One is a legislative track to a future and final Republican health care reform bill; a bill that can make it through the Senate, reconciliation with the House and onto the president’s desk to be signed into law. That path...

05/09/2017

Presidential Campaign Ads Are Super Quirky in South Korea

In South Korea, presidential advertising has taken on a quirkier, lighter tone in an effort to appeal to younger voters.

Some of the campaign ads in South Korea's presidential election have been quirky and full of pop-culture references.

04/25/2017

Kantar - Here's Why Trump's Tax Plan Will Be a Tough Sell

We can expect an announcement regarding new tax policy from the White House tomorrow, but where does the public stand on it to begin with?

Americans agree taxes are too high but don't see taxes as a serious issue for the country.

04/14/2017

Have You or Your Loved Ones Been Hurt by This Ad? Congressman Wants to Know

Law firms spend millions of dollars on TV ads recruiting plaintiffs for pharmaceutical cases. Is that effort causing consumers harm?

Plaintiffs’ lawyers have long solicited clients through television ads that warn of a drug’s potentially harmful side effects. Now, a powerful congressman is pushing back, saying the ads are to blame for patients suffering harm or even dying after dropping treatment.

03/31/2017

Legal advertising blows past $1 billion and goes viral

Take a peek into the wild world of legal advertising where, “Everyone wants the practice of law to remain dignified, but the public doesn’t always respond to dignified ads.”

It had been three years since the U.S. Supreme Court held in Bates v. State Bar of Arizona that the traditional ban on lawyer advertising was unconstitutional. States were starting

03/23/2017

Will influential Florida trial lawyer be in the mix for state’s 2018 Governor’s race?

An influential trial lawyer may be using firm’s ads to launch a bid for 2018 Florida Governor race http://ow.ly/Fi2030abzss

It is an open secret that trial lawyers are a major donor class for the Democratic Party; indeed, every other November both the party and individual candidates can expect a windfall of campaign donations. To wit- during the 2016 Presidential election Democrat Hillary Clinton received approximately $...

03/21/2017

Gorsuch Could Benefit From Hill Distractions as Hearings Begin | RealClearPolitics

Confirmation hearings for Neil Gorsuch have begun in the midst of a health care fight--which one is getting the most attention from advertisers?

Judge Neil Gorsuch is set to take questions from a Senate panel this week, his most consequential test since being nominated by President Trump to succeed the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the...

03/17/2017

Advertisers have spent $3.5 million on ads around the Affordable Care Act since the beginning of the year. Pro-ACA groups have spent 1.6 times more than Anti-ACA groups.

02/07/2017

Secret money fueling pro-Betsy DeVos ad campaigns

Today the senate will vote on the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, a nomination that has drawn surprising energy and spending from both opponents and supporters.

Conservative groups are making final push to save Trump's education secretary pick.

02/06/2017

The five most political Super Bowl commercials

It's not campaign season, but that didn't stop advertisers from getting political during the Super Bowl.

Amid a contentious political climate, these ads got people talking.

01/24/2017

In an Industry Largely Reconciled to ACA, Blue Cross/Blue Shield Affiliate Voices Concerns

The Affordable Care Act is not only a subject of debate in congress. The law is sometimes mentioned in Health Insurance advertising as well.

For the past three years, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina has often veered into a contrarian strategy concerning the national conversation on healthcare versus its peers. As Kantar Media/CMAG has noted in the past, the vast majority of health insurance carriers’ advertising in the years...

01/23/2017

Kantar - Negative sentiment around The Inauguration

Inauguration generated a slew of conversations on Twitter--even in the UK!

Kantar Twitter TV Ratings for the week commencing 16th January

01/19/2017

Who Made the Call?

Inauguration is tomorrow, but we're taking a look back at Election Night with an awesome data viz by Harley Ellenberger.