Candidates, Retailers Vie for TV Time

CANDIDATES, RETAILERS VIE FOR TV TIME
An earlier date for Iowa's caucuses probably means presidential candidates will run more television ads from mid-November through December, the height of the Christmas shopping season when retailers want to promote sales. Moving the caucuses up 11 days to Jan. 3 also will force candidates to pay top dollar for TV ads over the holidays and soften their messages to avoid violating the serenity of the season. The same equation applies in New Hampshire, whose first-in-the-nation primary will follow the Iowa caucuses five days later. "This is just like adding a hailstorm to a hurricane," said Evan Tracey, who tracks political advertising as chief operating officer for TNS Media Intelligence/Campaign Media Analysis Group. "You've got a 16-deep field of candidates, interest groups and everybody else that's all going to want the same time." The schedule presents a conundrum for the presidential campaigns. Political advertising has a tendency to become more negative closer to an election as candidates seek to contrast themselves with their rivals. "Attack ads don't necessarily blend well with Santa Claus and holiday cheer," said Steve McMahon, a Democratic media strategist who ran Howard Dean's presidential ad campaign in 2003 and 2004. What's more, in a field with many candidates, negative advertising can backfire. "If candidate A attacks candidate B, it's often not candidate A who benefits. It's candidate C or D or E," McMahon said.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2007/11/26/daily.12/