View source for Philosophy:Attack ad

{{Short description|Political ad meant to insult an opposing candidate or party}}


In political campaigns, an '''attack ad''' is an advertisement designed to wage a personal attack against an opposing candidate or [[Social:Political party|political party]] in order to gain support for the attacking candidate and attract voters. Attack ads often form part of [[Social:Negative campaigning|negative campaigning]] or [[Philosophy:Smear campaign|smear campaign]]s, and in large or well-financed campaigns, may be disseminated via [[Social:Mass media|mass media]].

An attack ad will generally unfairly criticize an opponent's [[Social:Party platform|political platform]], usually by pointing out its faults. Often the ad will simply make use of innuendo, based on [[Opposition research|opposition research]]. Political attack ads across all types of media can have different strategic aims. Some are character attacks, trying to persuade the viewer to think differently about a candidates character in hopes that they will reconsider their perception of the candidate and who they are as a person. Another strategy is an attack on the candidates' policy or political ideas. This attempts to derail one's support for a candidate by persuading them that the candidate-under-attack's political ideas are illogical, extreme, or will be ineffective.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Elmelund-Præstekær |first1=Christian |date=March 2010 |title=Beyond American negativity: toward a general understanding of the determinants of negative campaigning |journal=European Political Science Review |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=137 |doi=10.1017/s1755773909990269 |s2cid=145008948}}</ref>

Televised attack ads rose to prominence in the United States in the 1960s, especially since Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations require over-the-air commercial TV stations with licenses issued by the FCC—effectively all regulated TV stations, since others would either be public television or be [[Engineering:Pirate television|pirated]]—to air political ads by both parties, whether it be attack ads or more traditional political ads. Although [[Engineering:Cable television|cable television]] and the Internet are not required to air such ads, attack ads have become commonplace on both mediums as well.

==Examples==

===United States===
[[File:Daisy (1964).webm|thumb|left|thumbtime=3|"Daisy" advertisement]]
One of the earliest and most famous television attack ads, known as "Daisy", was used by [[Biography:Lyndon B. Johnson|Lyndon B. Johnson]] against [[Biography:Barry Goldwater|Barry Goldwater]] in the 1964 presidential election. The ad opened with a young girl innocently picking petals from a daisy, while a man's voice performed a countdown to zero. It then zoomed in to an extreme close-up to her eye, and cut to an image of a [[Physics:Nuclear explosion|nuclear explosion]]. The ad was shocking and disturbing, but also very effective. It convinced many that Goldwater's more aggressive approach to fighting the [[History:Cold War|Cold War]] could result in a nuclear conflict.<ref name="daisy">{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er5h_TXun6o |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/Er5h_TXun6o |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Daisy Girl|medium=Television ad|people=Schwartz, Tony (director)|year=1964}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

During the 1968 presidential election, Vice President Hubert Humphrey made a political ad against candidate Spiro Agnew with Humphrey laughing on the TV screen showing the text "Agnew, for vice president?". The ad ended with a quote "This would be funny, if it weren't so serious..." and it also ended with Humphrey coughing due to his non-stop laughter.

Attack ads were used again by the campaign of George H. W. Bush against Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential election. The two most famous were the "Willie Horton" and "Tank Ride" ads. The "Willie Horton" ad began with a statement of Vice President Bush's support of the death penalty. Then it described the case of Willie Horton, who was convicted of murder. The ad stated that Governor Dukakis's prison furlough program (unsupervised weekend passes from Massachusetts prison) released Horton ten times; in one of those furloughs, he kidnapped a young couple, stabbed the boy and repeatedly raped the girl. The ad ended with, "Weekend prison passes. Dukakis on crime."<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTdUQ9SYhUw |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/wTdUQ9SYhUw |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|chapter=Analysis of a "Willie Horton" ad from the 1988 campaign|title=Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story|publisher=InterPositive Media|year=2008}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The "Tank Ride" ad<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0309/lm10.html |title=Michael Dukakis, 1988 – Another Landmark Image |work=100 Photographs that Changed the World |publisher=Life |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150801060800/http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0309/lm10.html |archive-date=August 1, 2015 }}</ref> from 1988 was an attack on Dukakis by the GOP.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://presidentialcampaign2004.coas.missouri.edu/general/spots_analysis/bush88tank_movie.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080202175405/http://presidentialcampaign2004.coas.missouri.edu/general/spots_analysis/bush88tank_movie.html|archive-date=2008-02-02|title=Presidential Campaign 2004 – Their Message and Their Analysis|publisher=TV Spot History}}</ref> It created a lasting negative impression and helped guarantee Dukakis' defeat. The ad suggested that Bush was more supportive of military spending and weapons programs than Dukakis. The footage, pulled from the news media, showed Dukakis riding a tank in his attempt to counter the claim that he was weak on defense. He wore a large, oversized helmet and a wide smile, which was used by the GOP to insinuate that he was a fool. The GOP also added gear sounds from an [[Engineering:Semi-trailer truck|18-wheeler truck]] to imply that Dukakis could not run the tank smoothly – although tanks do not have gears that grind.<ref>{{cite book|author=Geer, John G.|year=2006|title=In Defense of Negativity: attack ads in presidential campaigns|location=Chicago|publisher=the University of Chicago Press|isbn=9780226284996|pages=127–128}}</ref>

The 2008 Democratic presidential primaries featured an ad by Hillary Clinton directed at her main rival at the time, [[Biography:Barack Obama|Barack Obama]], which aired days before the Texas primary. The ad began by showing children asleep in bed while phone rang in the background. A voice-over stated that it was 3 a.m., the phone was ringing in the White House, and that "something's happening in the world". The voice-over then asked voters if they wanted someone who "already knows the world's leaders, knows the military" and is "tested and ready to lead in a dangerous world" to pick up the phone.<ref name="oldref8">{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yr7odFUARg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/7yr7odFUARg |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Hillary Clinton Ad – 3 AM White House Ringing Phone|year=2008|publisher=Hillary Clinton campaign}}{{cbignore}}</ref> While Obama was never mentioned by name, the implication was clear and the ad set off a firestorm of discussion and controversy, causing even Obama himself to respond and describe it as an ad that "play[ed] on people's fears", predicting it would not work.<ref name="oldref9">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/01/us/politics/01campaign.html?_r=1|author=Seelye, Katherine Q.|author2=Zeleny, Jeff.|date=March 1, 2008|title=Clinton Questions Role of Obama in Crisis|newspaper={{wipe|The New York Times}}}}</ref> Later in the campaign, after Obama had become the Democratic nominee, Republican nominee John McCain echoed a similar sentiment. In a controversial ad called "Celebrity", McCain's campaign asked, "[Barack Obama] is the biggest celebrity in the world. But, is he ready to lead?" The ad juxtaposed Obama supporters with photos of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton.<ref>{{cite web|title=McCain calls Obama the biggest celebrity in the world|url=http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/07/30/mccain-ad-calls-obama-biggest-celebrity-in-the-world/|work=CNN Politics|publisher=CNN}}</ref>

By 2010, attack ads had spread online as political candidates published their ads on [[Company:YouTube|YouTube]]. Carly Fiorina, a Republican candidate from California, released a video on YouTube depicting former Republican opponent Tom Campbell as a "Fiscal conservative in name only”.<ref name="oldref5">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/21/us/politics/21ads.html|author=Steinhauer, Jennifer|date=March 20, 2010|title=Dose of Venom for Candidates Turns Ads Viral|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>

===Mexico===
The first attack ads of the 2006 Mexican general election were launched by the conservative National Action Party against Andrés Manuel López Obrador; the ad claimed that López Obrador's "populistic" proposals would drive Mexico further into economic crisis and bankruptcy. The Party of the Democratic Revolution answered with attack ads against the current president Felipe Calderón, claiming that he was partly culpable for the [[Finance:Mexican peso crisis|1994 economic crisis]]; since Calderón was running with a motto of "the president of employment", the ads closed with, "dirty hands, zero employments". After López Obrador alleged that Calderón was illegally patronizing his brother-in-law Hildebrando Zavala, the tagline was changed to "dirty hands, one employment for his brother-in-law".

===Canada===
Although it has been found that Canadian elections are less likely to use attack ads than US elections, there has been an increasingly strong presence of negative ads in Canadian campaigns in modern times. Comparatively, Canadians were more likely to use acclaim ads- or ads that praise another individual- than Americans, as American campaigns are much more likely to use attack ads than Canadian campaigns. Overall, however, Canadian campaigns are more likely to use attack ads than acclaim ads, similarly to the US.<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Mahone |first1=Jessica A. |title=A comparative content analysis of televised political advertising in the United States and Canada in 2004 and 2008 |year=2009 |id={{ProQuest|304874542}} }}</ref> Famous examples of Canadian attack ads include the 1993 Chrétien attack ad during the 1993 Canadian federal election, and the 2006 Liberal Party of Canada election ads during the 2006 Canadian federal election, both of which were widely criticized and ultimately managed to improve the electoral results of the candidates being targeted by the ads.

=== Philippines ===
During the 2016 general election campaign, presidential candidate and Senator Antonio Trillanes launched negative advertisements that featured six children against presidential candidate and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte on ABS-CBN a few days before the election on May 9, 2016.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.abs-cbn.com/halalan2016/nation/05/05/16/anti-duterte-ad-causes-uproar-online|title=Anti-Duterte ad causes uproar online|work=ABS-CBN News|access-date=May 7, 2016|date=May 5, 2016}}</ref>

The 30-second advertisement showing each of the six children (four boys and two girls) briefly criticizes the video clips shown: Duterte's remarks of "killing everybody", his cursing on Pope Francis, yelling "Mabuhay ang NPA" ({{lit|Long live the NPA!}}), kissing a woman and his comments about the rape-slay on the Australian missionary, the remarks of his war on drug campaign "would be bloody" should Duterte elected president, and finally raising his blurred middle finger.<ref>{{cite news |title=Anti Duterte TV Advertisement / Commercial |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P46B4e6c_hs |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/P46B4e6c_hs |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|publisher=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The advertisement drew criticism from Duterte's supporters on social media.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rappler.com/nation/politics/elections/2016/131969-anti-duterte-ad-trillanes|title=Anti-Duterte ad by Trillanes riles up Duterte supporters|author=Pia Ranada|publisher=Rappler|date=May 5, 2016|access-date=2020-07-10}}</ref> A 72-hour [[Social:Injunction|temporary restraining order]] was issued by Taguig Regional Trial Court to stop ABS-CBN and its TV stations from airing the negative advertisement.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/783789/cayetano-wins-tro-vs-anti-duterte-ads-but-word-war-goes-on|title=Cayetano wins TRO vs anti-Duterte ads, but word war goes on|newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer|access-date=May 7, 2016|date=May 7, 2016}}</ref> Duterte's running mate, vice-presidential candidate Alan Peter Cayetano, accused President Benigno Aquino III; two other rivals, Mar Roxas and Grace Poe; and ABS-CBN of conspiracy for making the ad. Former PCOO Secretary Sonny Coloma denied the conspiracy claim made by Cayetano.<ref>{{cite web |title=Taguig RTC issues TRO vs. anti-Duterte ad
|url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/565273/taguig-rtc-issues-tro-vs-anti-duterte-ad/story/|author=Trisha Macas|publisher=GMA News|date=2016-05-06|access-date=2020-03-08}}</ref> Prior to the airing of the ad, the ABS-CBN Corporation issued a statement that the ad had been reviewed to the ethics committee, complied with election laws, and was allowed to air. Later, TV5 refused to air the controversial ad, the TV5 Network stating that the ad had not met requirements.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/783574/abs-cbn-on-anti-duterte-tvc-we-are-duty-bound-to-air-legitimate-ad|title=ABS-CBN on 'anti-Duterte' TVC: We are duty-bound to air legitimate ad|author=Nestor Corrales|publisher=Philippine Daily Inquirer|date=2016-05-06|access-date=July 10, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/783655/tv5-we-didnt-air-anti-duterte-ad-due-to-unmet-requirements|title=TV5: Didn't air 'anti-Duterte' ad due to unmet requirements|author=Yuji Vincent Gonzales|publisher=Philippine Daily Inquirer|date=May 6, 2016|access-date=2020-07-10}}</ref>

On February 24, 2020, during the Senate hearing on the ABS-CBN franchise renewal, GMA Network, Inc. First Vice President for Legal Affairs, Maria Luz Delfin clarified that the GMA Network had not aired the ad, stating that it was disapproved by the internal election committee.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/727172/gma-network-clarification-on-pamana-ad-against-duterte/story/|title=GMA Network clarification on ad against Duterte|publisher=GMA News|date=February 24, 2020|access-date=July 10, 2020}}</ref>

===Non-political usage===
While attack ads have primarily been relegated for political usage, there have been some instances of private businesses running them. In 2013, Highmark, a healthcare company associated with the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) were unable to reach an agreement on whether Highmark's insurance would be accepted at UPMC. Highmark also entered into negotiations to acquire the struggling West Penn Allegheny Health System; Highmark and UPMC then started airing attack ads at each other. Both parties' ads accused the other of pushing patients with their respective health insurance plans to hospitals operated by their respective health insurance provider, as well as attacking each other's nonprofit status.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2013/08/01/upmc-and-highmark-engage-in-tv-ad-war/|title=UPMC and Highmark Engage in TV Ad Wars|date=August 1, 2013|publisher=CBS Pittsburgh}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/4481931-74/upmc-highmark-health#axzz2bXiuA6El|author=Pucko, Timothy|author2=Conti, David|title=UPMC sues Highmark over advertising campaign|date=August 5, 2013|publisher=TribeLive News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/upmc-pittsburgh-stake-positions-for-court-fight-on-nonprofit-status-680393/|author=Hamill, Sean D.|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|title=UPMC, Pittsburgh stake positions for court fight on nonprofit status|date=March 22, 2013|publisher= PG Publishing Co., Inc.}}</ref> At the same year, T-Mobile, AT&T, [[Company:Sprint Corporation|Sprint]] and Verizon began airing attack ads against each other.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/att-made-this-t-mobile-attack-ad-2013-3|title=AT&T Made This T-Mobile Attack Ad|date=March 4, 2013|publisher=Business Insider}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/t-mobile-fires-back-at-at-t-in-attack-ads/|title=T-Mobile fires back at AT&T in attack ads|date=March 6, 2013|publisher=CNET}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.tmonews.com/2013/07/t-mobiles-new-print-attack-ad-hits-att-verizon-again-and-again/|title=Home > T-Mobile's New Print Attack Ad Hits AT&T, Verizon Again, And Again T-Mobile's New Print Attack Ad Hits AT&T, Verizon Again, And Again|date=July 24, 2013|publisher=TmoNews}}</ref>

== Effect on voter turnout ==
Studies suggest that attack ads have no effect on [[Social:Voter turnout|voter turnout]] in the United States. There is, in fact, a noted negative impact on voter turnout by some researches, but it has no bearing on the evidence as it is statistically insignificant. The only case in which evidence reveals a correlation between negative advertising and voter turnout is for "late" negativity. This is when two conditions exist for the voter: they have already selected their preferred candidate and the attack and the negativity is about their selected candidate. If these two conditions exist, there is a negative effect on voter turnout. In this case, a forty percent increase in "late" negative ads will decrease the likelihood of turnout by 0.087, and a sixty percent increase in late ads merits a 0.145 decrease in turnout. Thus, the only case in which attack ads have been found to effect on voter turn out is when the voter has already selected their candidate, as they realize that their candidate is potentially no better than the alternative options.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Krupnikov |first1=Yanna |title=When Does Negativity Demobilize? Tracing the Conditional Effect of Negative Campaigning on Voter Turnout |journal=American Journal of Political Science |date=October 2011 |volume=55 |issue=4 |pages=797–813 |doi=10.1111/j.1540-5907.2011.00522.x }}</ref>

==Effectiveness==
Studies claim that 82% of Americans dislike attack ads, and 53% believe that the "ethics and values" of election campaigns have worsened since 1985.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lipsitz |first1=Keena |last2=Trost |first2=Christine |last3=Grossmann |first3=Matthew|author4-link=John M. Sides |last4=Sides |first4=John |title=What Voters Want From Political Campaign Communication |journal=Political Communication |date=July 2005 |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=337–354 |doi=10.1080/10584600591006609 |citeseerx=10.1.1.591.2931 |s2cid=18475734 }}</ref> The voting public see attack ads as an element of smear campaigning.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gann Hall |first1=Melinda |last2=Bonneau |first2=Chris W. |title=Attack Advertising, the White Decision, and Voter Participation in State Supreme Court Elections |journal=Political Research Quarterly |date=March 2013 |volume=66 |issue=1 |pages=115–126 |doi=10.1177/1065912911433296 |s2cid=34068375 |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5602/563b0c595b929e1192b99a44c611b243a1b1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212210357/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5602/563b0c595b929e1192b99a44c611b243a1b1.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-02-12 }}</ref> Other research indicates that voters are open to candidates attacking each other if the issues in question are "appropriate". In a 1999 survey of Virginia voters, 80.7% felt it is fair for a candidate to criticize an opponent for "talking one way and voting another", though but only 7.7% feel it is fair for a candidate to attack an opponent for the "behavior of his/her family members".<ref name="freedman">{{cite journal|author1=Freedman, P.|author2=Lawton, D.|author3=Wood, W.|title=Do's and Don'ts of Negative Ads: What Voters Say|journal=Campaign Elections|volume=20|pages=20–25|year=1999}}</ref>

Political operatives, however, have found attack ads to be useful, and social psychologists claim that negative information has a tendency "to be more influential than equally extreme or equally likely positive information".<ref name=Lau>{{cite journal |last1=Lau |first1=Richard R. |last2=Rovner |first2=Ivy Brown |title=Negative Campaigning |journal=Annual Review of Political Science |date=June 2009 |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=285–306 |doi=10.1146/annurev.polisci.10.071905.101448 |doi-access=free }}</ref> [[Organization:University of Toronto|University of Toronto]] professor Scott Hawkins "suggests that even a mention in the media that a candidate or party is planning to run negative advertisements can be beneficial, since it plants seeds of doubt in the voter's mind, especially early in the campaign when voters tend to be less involved. If the reported claims turn up in advertisements later in the campaign, they already seem familiar to the voter."<ref>{{cite web|last = McGuffin|first = Ken|date = 10 May 2004|url = https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/news/detail.asp?ID=78|title = Political Attack Ads Can be Effective but Risky|publisher = Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110301041158/https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/news/detail.asp?ID=78|archive-date = 1 March 2011}}</ref>

In the United States, researchers have consistently found that negative advertising has positive effects. Negative advertising "is likely to stimulate voters by increasing the degree to which they care about the election's outcome or by increasing ties to their party's nominee;"<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Finkel |first1=Steven E. |last2=Geer |first2=John G. |title=A Spot Check: Casting Doubt on the Demobilizing Effect of Attack Advertising |journal=American Journal of Political Science |date=April 1998 |volume=42 |issue=2 |pages=573 |doi=10.2307/2991771 |jstor=2991771 }}</ref> it makes the election seem more important, and thus increases [[Social:Voter turnout|voter turnout]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Goldstein |first1=Ken |last2=Freedman |first2=Paul |title=Campaign Advertising and Voter Turnout: New Evidence for a Stimulation Effect |journal=The Journal of Politics |date=August 2002 |volume=64 |issue=3 |pages=721–740 |doi=10.1111/0022-3816.00143 |jstor=1520110 |s2cid=154565485 }}</ref> Other research has found that negative advertisements only appeal to partisan voters, and that it alienates independents, causing elections to be fought among partisan extremes.<ref>{{cite book|author=Iyengar, Shanto|author2=Ansolabehere, Stephen|title=Going negative : how attack ads shrink and polarize the electorate|year=1996|publisher=Free Press|location=New York|isbn=9780684822846|edition=1st paperbook|url=https://archive.org/details/goingnegativehow00anso_0}}</ref>

===Backfires===
If an ad is seen as going too far or being "too personal", voters may turn against the party that put the ad out. For example, in the Canada 1993 federal election, the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party attacked Liberal Party leader Jean Chrétien by implicitly mocking his Bell's Palsy partial facial paralysis. Outrage followed, and the PC Party's image was badly damaged in the polls.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=1993: Is this a prime minister?|work=Political Attack Ads|publisher=CBC News Online|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/who-attackads/|medium=Interactive graphic}}</ref> Similar backlash happened to the Liberal Party of Canada in the 2006 federal election, when they created an attack ad suggesting that Conservative leader Stephen Harper would use armed Canadian soldiers to police major cities. Though the ads were never aired, they diminished the believability of other ads by the Liberal Party.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/story/canadavotes2006/national/2006/01/12/elxn-libs-research-military.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225113027/http://www.cbc.ca/story/canadavotes2006/national/2006/01/12/elxn-libs-research-military.html|archive-date=February 25, 2008|title=Martin says he only approved transcript of controversial 'soldiers ad|date=January 12, 2008|publisher=CBC News}}</ref> A leaked copy, broadcast on the news, offended many Canadians, particularly the military, some of whom were fighting in Afghanistan at the time.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}}

In the run up to, and in the 2015 Canadian federal election itself, Justin Trudeau, Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the son of Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, was subjected to a sustained negative ad campaign by the [[Finance:Conservative Party of Canada|Conservative Party of Canada]]. However, the "Just Not Ready" campaign was judged by the public as unfair and mocking of the Liberal leader.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Campbell|first1=Bradley|title=Stephen Harper underestimated Justin Trudeau, but it was the mocking way he did it that cost him the election|url=http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-10-20/stephen-harper-underestimated-justin-trudeau-it-was-mocking-way-he-did-it-cost|access-date=October 21, 2015|work=PRI|date=October 20, 2015}}</ref> More importantly, the advertising campaign lowered public expectations of Trudeau's performance that even Conservative personnel noted that he would impress people if he showed any display of competence in public events such as the televised debates.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Hamilton|first1=Graeme|title=Graeme Hamilton: Justin Trudeau's stunning victory for the Liberals should finally silence his doubters|url=http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/graeme-hamilton-justin-trudeau-emerges-victorious-from-an-election-campaign-that-should-finally-silence-his-doubters|access-date=October 21, 2015|work=National Post|date=October 20, 2015}}</ref> That proved to be the case, and Trudeau took advantage of the public's low expectations to impress the public with his articulate and passionate manner to garner support throughout the campaign until his party won a [[Social:Majority government|majority government]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gagnon|first1=Michelle|title=Justin Trudeau's rise shows the benefits of being underestimated|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canada-election-2015-justin-trudeau-michelle-gagnon-1.3259553|access-date=October 21, 2015|publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|date=October 7, 2015}}</ref>

In 2006, Republican challenger Paul R. Nelson campaigned against Democrat Ron Kind for a seat in the United States House of Representatives. Nelson's ad stated, "Ron Kind has no trouble spending your money, he'd just rather spend it on sex," and, "Instead of spending money on cancer research, Ron Kind voted to spend your money to study the sex lives of Vietnamese prostitutes."<ref>{{cite AV media|medium=Television ad|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKln7salIrg |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/rKln7salIrg |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Paul R. Nelsion Sex Studies Ad|publisher=Paul R. Nelson for Congress Committee|location=Wisconsin}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Nelson's challenge fell short, as Ron Kind was reelected, while the attack's outrageous presentation provoked an uproar from Republicans and Democrats alike.{{citation needed|date=October 2012}} A 1999 survey showed that challengers lose almost 3 points on the [[Social:Feeling thermometer|feeling thermometer]] (a 100-point scale used to assess survey-takers feelings on certain issues)<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Survey Research Methods|title=Feeling Thermometer|editor-first=Paul J.|editor-last=Lavrakas|author=Nelson, Shannon C.|isbn=9781412918084|url=http://srmo.sagepub.com/view/encyclopedia-of-survey-research-methods/n183.xml|year=2008}}</ref> when a candidate engages in mudslinging. The study also shows that the influence of negativity is less powerful for challengers than for incumbents.{{clarify|date=October 2012}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kahn |first1=Kim Fridkin |last2=Kenney |first2=Patrick J. |title=Do Negative Campaigns Mobilize or Suppress Turnout? Clarifying the Relationship between Negativity and Participation |journal=American Political Science Review |date=December 1999 |volume=93 |issue=4 |pages=877–889 |doi=10.2307/2586118 |jstor=2586118 |s2cid=146440839 }}</ref>

== Front groups ==
Campaigns often establish or support front groups (organizations that appear to be independent [[Social:Voluntary association|voluntary association]]s or charity) to run counter-attack ads. This technique ties into the wider practice of [[Social:Astroturfing|astroturfing]]. Former political speechwriter Leonard Steinhorn points out that "issue ads" run by front groups use deceptive names to hide their true sponsors – such as the pharmaceutical industry-backed United Seniors Association, which spent $17 million on ads during the 2000 US presidential election.<ref>{{cite book|author=Steinhorn, Leonard|year=2004|chapter=Ads Are Us: Political Advertising in a Mass Media Culture|title=Campaigns and Elections American Style|editor1-first=James A.|editor1-last=Thurber|editor2-first=Candice J.|editor2-last=Nelson|location=Boulder|publisher=Westview Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/campaignselectio00/page/121 121]|isbn=9780813341811|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/campaignselectio00|url=https://archive.org/details/campaignselectio00/page/121}}</ref> As front ads are not controlled by the candidates they support, the candidates are insulated from criticism.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mayer |first1=Robert N. |title=Winning the War of Words: The "Front Group" Label in Contemporary Consumer Politics: Winning the War of Words |journal=The Journal of American Culture |date=23 February 2007 |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=96–109 |doi=10.1111/j.1542-734X.2007.00467.x }}</ref>

== Popular culture ==
[[Biography:George Orwell|George Orwell's]] dystopian novel ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' includes mention of the "Two Minutes Hate", a routine in which workers are subject to films encouraging distrust, fear and hatred towards the enemies of Big Brother.

==See also==
* [[Philosophy:Ad hominem|Ad hominem]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Media manipulation|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Attack Ad}}
[[Category:Political campaign techniques]]
[[Category:Propaganda techniques]]
[[Category:Informal fallacies]]

{{Sourceattribution|Attack ad}}