A Functional Analysis of 2012 Presidential Primary TV Spots

Abstract

In 2012, only the GOP had a contested primary. As of March 2012 none of the four candidates remaining in the race (Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, and Rick Santorum) had secured enough delegates to claim the nomination, indicating that this primary season would drag on (McCain clinched the 2008 Republican nomination on March 4, 2008). This protracted primary meant that the Republicans had to devote most of their efforts to their immediate opponents, rather than concentrating on President Barack Obama. Obama did not have to worry about attacks from his own party. This study applies Benoit's functional theory to 143 primary television spots from this campaign. This sample of ads broke with tradition by attacking as much as they acclaimed. The topic of utterance was split about evenly between policy and character.

Campaigning on the Internet: 2008 Presidential General Election Candidate Webpages

“…This prediction was confirmed in Acceptances (Benoit, 2014b), TV spots (Benoit & Glantz, 2012), and debates . We do not know if this prediction would be upheld in 2008 general webpages.…”

“…It was also confirmed in 2008 acceptances (Benoit, 2014b), TV spots (Benoit & Glantz, 2012), and debates . This prediction was supported consistently in these studies.…”

“…The 2008 Democratic and Republican presidential primary webpages also stressed acclaims (85%) over attacks (15%) with virtually no defenses (0.4%; . Acceptance addresses (Benoit, 2014b), TV spots (Benoit & Glantz, 2012), and debates showed the same basic pattern of more acclaims than attacks and few defenses. The predicted ordering of functions occurred in each message form in these campaigns.…”

“…Candidate primary webpages in 2008 once again stressed policy (81%) over character (19%;. Acceptance addresses (Benoit, 2014b), TV spots , and debates (Benoit & Glantz, 2012) in the 2008 general election talked more about policy. Every one of these message forms in these campaigns privileged policy over character.…”

“…Acceptance addresses (Benoit, 2014b) discussed the forms of character in these proportions: personal qualities 44%, leadership ability 14%, and ideals 41%. Television advertising in the 2008 general election campaign also stressed personal qualities (60%) over leadership ability (20%) or ideals (20%; Benoit & Glantz, 2012). The debates that year ) also emphasized personal qualities (54%), leadership ability (26%), and ideals (20%).…”