THE POLITICAL ADVERTISING

HANGOVER EFFECT
A LOOK AT THE EFFECT OF POLITICAL PRIMING
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SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

Exposure to negative political advertising generates extremely negative

emotions in consumers, with feelings of anger, sadness, and anxiety
emerging after seeing a negative political ad.

Political advertising with positive messages (about candidates background,

vision, qualifications, etc.) also generates negative emotions in consumers.

Consumers have a difficult time compartmentalizing these feelings, with

political advertising having a negative hangover effect on how people
consume subsequent brand advertising.

This effect goes beyond just how consumers perceive a brands ad it

negatively impacts the perception of the brand and product overall.
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NEGATIVE POLITICAL ADVERTISING GENERATES

NEGATIVE EMOTIONS IN CONSUMERS

Emotional Response To Negative Political Advertising

Negative Clinton spot - Crooked Hillary (n=206)

Negative Clinton spot - Dear Hillary (n=208)

Negative Clinton spot - So help us (n=201)

Negative Trump spot - Punishment (n=205)

Negative Trump spot - Quotes (n=204)

Negative Trump spot - The best words (n=205)

TH E PO LITI CA L A DV ERTISI N G H A N GOVER EFFECT 4

POSITIVE POLITICAL ADVERTISING ALSO GENERATE

NEGATIVE EMOTIONS IN CONSUMERS

Emotional Response To Negative Political Advertising

Positive Trump spot - Voters speak (n=203)

Positive Trump spot - Washington is broken (n=207)

Positive Trump spot - Ivanka Trump (n=202)

Positive Clinton spot - All the good (n=202)

Positive Clinton spot - Fighting for you (n=204)

Positive Clinton spot - Family strong (n=205)

TH E PO LITI CA L A DV ERTISI N G H A N GOVER EFFECT

WHICH MADE US WONDER

Does that negative emotional response

impact the brand ads that might follow
those political ads?
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IMMEDIATE PRIOR EXPOSURE TO POLITICAL ADVERTISING HAS A NEGATIVE IMPACT

ON HOW CONSUMERS RECEIVE A SUBSEQUENT BRANDS ADVERTISING

Ratings of Brand Advertising (TOP BOX 10 on 10pt scale)

Control (No Exposure to Political Ads) Exposed to Political Ads (ANY)

-27% -29%
34% 35%
33%
-32% -31% 30%

24% 25% 26%

24%
22% 20%
17% 18%

Appealing Relevant Believable Entertaining Different Likable

Statistically significant difference @ 90% Confidence

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WITH CONSUMERS RATING A BRAND'S OVERALL REPUTATION AND PRODUCT

PERFORMANCE, QUALITY AND VALUE LOWER AS A RESULT OF THE NEGATIVE
POLITICAL PRIMING EFFECT

Ratings of Brand Health (TOP BOX 10 on 10pt scale)

Control (No Exposure to Political Ads) Exposed to Political Ads (ANY)

-22% -34% -24%
35% -32%
32% 33%
28%
25% 25%
23%
19%

Product Performance Brand Reputation Product Quality Product Value

Statistically significant difference @ 90% Confidence

TH E PO LITI CA L A DV ERTISI N G H A N GOVER EFFECT 8

A PHENOMENON WHICH HOLDS TRUE FOR VERY

PRODUCT-SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTES

Ratings of Product Attributes (TOP BOX 10 on 10pt scale)

Control (No Exposure to Political Ads) Exposed to Political Ads (ANY)

-23% -23%
31% 31%

24% 24%

Has a vibrant taste Has long lasting flavor

Statistically significant difference @ 90% Confidence

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AND AFFECTS CURRENT CUSTOMERS PURCHASE LIKELIHOOD

Impact on Purchase Intent of Brand Ad (TOP BOX 10 on 10pt scale)

Among EXTRA Customers....

Q. In the next 4 weeks, how likely would you be to continue using the following chewing gums?

Control (No Exposure to Political Ads) Exposed to Political Ads (ANY)

-26%
42%

31%

Statistically significant difference @ 90% Confidence

TH E PO LITI CA L A DV ERTISI N G H A N GOVER EFFECT

Appendix
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STUDY DESIGN
Phase 1
Confirm emotional elicitation of political ads
Each political ad was assessed independently
(monadic design) in separate streams of
respondents. The purpose of this stage was
to determine the emotional elicitation of each
political ad.
Positive Trump
Phase 2
Confirm rational and emotional profile of the Extra
brand before and after viewing the Extra ad
Separate streams of respondents rated either
the Extra brand (no ad seen) or the Extra brand
after watching the Extra ad. The rational and
emotional impact of the Extra ad on the brand was
determined by comparing the Extra brand ratings
from those who hadnt seen the ad versus those
who had.
Phase 3
Determine the impact of political ads on Extra brand
advertising
Separate streams of respondents viewed four ads in a
row, with the three political ads always preceding the
Extra ad. Performance of the Extra ad was compared with
performance of the Extra ad shown by itself (Phase 2). This
allowed assessment of the rational and emotional impact
on brand evaluations as a result of seeing political ads
immediately prior to brand (Extra) advertising.

Viewed three positive Trump ads followed by Extra ad

Extra brand (no other ads seen)

Positive Clinton
Viewed three positive Clinton ads followed by Extra ad

Extra brand (after viewing political ads)

Negative Trump
Viewed three negative Trump ads followed by Extra ad

Negative Clinton Viewed three negative Clinton ads followed by Extra ad

* For all phases in this study, participants were online panellists residing in the U.S who were aged 18+ years and had purchased Extra (or competitor) chewing gum in the
last four weeks. Data are nationally representative of the addressable market.
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POSITIVE ADS TESTED NEGATIVE ADS TESTED

Positive Trump Negative Trump

Voters speak :30 Washington is broken :30 Ivanka Trump :30 Punishment :30 Quotes :30 The best words :30

Positive Clinton Negative Clinton

Family strong :30 Fighting for you :30 All the good :30 Crooked Hillary :30 Dear Hillary :30 So help us :30
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BRAND AD TESTED

The Story of Sarah and Juan :30

About SONAR
J. Walter Thompsons in-house research unit that develops and exploits new
quantitative and qualitative research techniques to understand cultures,
brands and consumer motivation around the world. SONAR is led by Mark
Truss, Worldwide Director of Brand Intelligence.

About J. Walter Thompson Intelligence

The Innovation Group is part of J. Walter Thompson Intelligence, a platform
for global research, innovation and data analytics at J. Walter Thompson
Company, housing three key in-house practices: SONAR, Analytics and
the Innovation Group. SONAR is J. Walter Thompsons research unit that
develops and exploits new quantitative and qualitative research techniques to
understand cultures, brands and consumer motivation around the world. It is
led by Mark Truss, Worldwide Director of Brand Intelligence. Analytics focuses
on the innovative application of data and technology to inform and inspire new
marketing solutions. It offers a suite of bespoke analytics tools and is led by
Amy Avery, Head of Analytics, North America.