New Obama Terrorism Ad has Little Effect on Voter Support
-- Personal Attribute Scores for Obama Improve Among Republicans after Viewing Ad --
Flemington, NJ, July 22, 2008 – Results from a new national study among 305 self-reported Democrats, Republicans and
independents revealed that Senator Barack Obama’s new ad had little effect on voter support.
The study was conducted by HCD Research and the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) today, to obtain
Americans’ perceptions of a new Barack Obama terrorism ad.
While viewing the ad, participants indicated their levels of interest and believability by moving their mouse from left
to right on a continuum. The responses were recorded in quarter-second intervals and reported in the form of curves.
Participants were also asked pre- and post-viewing questions regarding their support for Barack Obama. To view detailed
results and believability curves, go to: www.mediacurves.com
Respondents were also asked to evaluate the candidate on 8 personal attributes before and after viewing the ad. They
could rate the candidate for each attribute using a negative and a positive scale.
Among the study findings:
Democrats reported positive scores for Obama on all 8 attributes before and after viewing the ad. Among Republicans, he
received negative scores on 6 out of 8 attributes, although his scores moderately improved in 3 out of the 6 negative
attributes after viewing the ad. Independents reported a negative score for only 1 attribute and that score moderately
improved after viewing the ad.
“Please specify how much you agree/disagree with the following
statements about Barack Obama.”
Before Viewing the Ad
Mean Responses on a Scale of: -100% (Completely Disagree) to +100% (Completely Agree) Scale Registered Democrat
(n=103) Registered Republican (n=100) Registered Independent (n=102) Total (n=305)
He is hard working. 63% 9% 37% 37%
He is honest 44% -18% 14% 14%
He is concerned about people like me. 46% -29% 8% 9%
He is fighting for a change 62% 4% 34% 34%
He will represent my values 46% -35% 5% 6%
He is not tied to special interests 24% -33% -11% -6%
He is accountable 46% -25% 11% 11%
He is firm and consistent in his views 37% -28% 1% 4%
“Please specify how much you agree/disagree with the following
statements about Barack Obama.”
After Viewing the Ad
Mean Responses on a Scale of: -100% (Completely Disagree) to +100% (Completely Agree) Scale Registered Democrat
(n=103) Registered Republican (n=100) Registered Independent (n=102) Total (n=305)
He is hard working. 61% 11% 35% 36%
He is honest 48% -16% 15% 16%
He is concerned about people like me. 50% -21% 8% 13%
He is fighting for a change 60% 7% 35% 35%
He will represent my values 50% -28% 9% 11%
He is not tied to special interests 26% -32% -2% -2%
He is accountable 51% -19% 17% 17%
He is firm and consistent in his views 44% -24% 7% 9%
• Among political parties, the emotions most felt by Democrats while watching the ad were “inspiration” (45%) and
“pride” (20%), compared to Republicans, who reported “skepticism” (53%) and “inspiration” (24%) as the emotions most
felt, and independents who reported “skepticism” (35%) and “inspiration” (32%) as the emotions most felt.
The Media Curves web site provides the media and general public with a venue to view Americans’ perceptions of popular
and controversial media events and advertisements.
HCD Research is a communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ. The company's services include
traditional and web-based marketing and communications research. For additional information on HCD Research, access the
company’s web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393. Headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, MCIPO
is a respected source of public opinion data on local, state and national issues. . For additional information on
Muhlenberg College, go to www.muhlenberg.edu
ENDS