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For many, it wouldn’t be a shock to say Kansans have been hit with a slew of unrelenting political ads on their screens ahead of the general election on Nov. 3. Politicians spend a lot of money in order to get elected to office, using a variety of marketing strategies, including personal attacks and AI-generated content, which may not always be accurate. But do these political ads pose a real benefit for campaigns?  

Political advertising refers to the mobilization of various mass communication media such as newspaper ads, billboards, flyers, letters or radio and television presentations to garner votes, either directly or indirectly in support of an election campaign.  

Candidates around the country have racked up billions in political ad spending, expecting to reach a record high of $11.6 billion by Election Day. This figure beats both the former highest spending record in the 2022 midterm election at $8.9 billion and the 2024 presidential election cycle at $11.2 billion. 

These political ads fall into a few categories according to Associate Professor of Marketing Management and the chair of the department, Aaron Hollister, with the goal depending on the type.   

“These ads are just what they sound like. Introduction ads (introducing the candidate to increase name recognition), Issue Ads (advertising what the candidates think, feel, and will do about an issue), comparison ads (candidate A did this while candidate B would do this), and then attack or negative ads,” Hollister wrote in an email.   

The question of whether political ads wholly benefit campaigns holds a complex answer. While many studies outline ads as having a minimal impact on whom a person will vote for, they can be effective in other ways.  

“The first way an ad might have a positive impact is by increasing name recognition of the candidate.  We are much more likely to vote for someone we have heard of, so political ads can introduce us to candidates that were previously unknown to us,” Hollister wrote. “The other thing that political ads can do is to reduce voter turnout for the person they are running against.” 

The second impact may connect to an upward surge in negative and attack ads that have been shown to rear their heads this midterm election cycle.  

The amount of attack ads may contribute to seeing less about the other categories.  

These ads may stand out to consumers much more without necessarily having to be accurate. 

Chair of the Communications Studies Department and Professor Dr. Terri Easley-Giraldo earned a Ph.D in political communication with an area of focus in gender communication and a specialty in political ads.  

According to Easley-Giraldo, the scale of negative ads is significant. 

“We’re seeing a lot of negative ads, especially as we get closer to election day. We’re not seeing as many positive ads as we would normally see, so we would normally like ‘this is what I stand for’ and issue-focused. We’re not seeing that,” Easley-Giraldo said.   

These ads in question cause much discourse on potentially misleading information.  

“Ads are all about being persuasive. They’re not about being factual, and they don’t have to be factual, right? There’s no one checking them. A lot of ads will focus on that manipulative stance of selective facts or heavy emotion, and so they’re not really always correct and truthful,” Easley-Giraldo said.  

She believes that this has contributed to a major negative outlook on ads by consumers.   

“I think that’s why a lot of people have started the shift to not liking ads is because people don’t trust them, and people think they’re lying, and that maybe we’re losing a lot of that,” Easley-Giraldo said.  

 This is especially apparent looking at Kansas’ midterm election, where all statewide offices are all on the ballot.  

 “In the Roger Marshall-Adam Hamilton [race], we’re seeing a lot more attacks back and forth, like ‘this person has done this, don’t trust them,’ ‘this person is wearing a mask, don’t trust them,’ and so on- a lot more negativity than we would probably normally see. Usually, there would be more of a balance,” Easley-Giraldo said.  

 U.S. Senate candidates Democrat Adam Hamilton and Incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall have exceeded $84.5 million in political ad spending, the highest in the state’s history as they vie for a Senate seat, a race from a marketing standpoint Hollister writes has been “extremely interesting.” 

 “The Democrats have selected a pastor with the largest United Methodist Church congregation [by attendance] in the United States to run for the Senate seat, what is unique about this is that Pew Research did a study that found Protestant (of which Methodist are part of) and Catholic voters are more likely to lean Republican vs Democrat. So, the Democrats have selected someone they hope some Republicans will vote for,” Hollister wrote.  

 Hollister adds that endorsements of candidates cannot be overlooked. Marshall is endorsed by President Donald Trump, who visited Wichita on Oct.19 to rally support for the candidate. 

Hamilton and Marshall are also in the midst of a Senate toss-up, with polls depicting the race as of Oct. 30 to be tighter than expected for a continually red state, with 49% of Kansan voters supporting Hamilton and 45%. A win for Hamilton would be the first for a Democrat since 1932 in a Kansan U.S. Senate race.  

 With it comes intense political ad campaigns aiming to highlight allegations, alignments, and faults.  

“The Marshall campaign and its allies have sought to connect Hamilton to the national Democratic Party and portray him as more liberal than his campaign messaging suggests. The Hamilton campaign and its allies have emphasized economic concerns and controversies surrounding Marshall’s professional record,” wrote Dr. Abigail Vegter in an email, an adjunct professor of political science at Johnson County Community College.  

According to political science professor Dr. Brian Wright, the former has taken a serious hit amid ads highlighting medical lawsuits, which correlates to how close that race is.  

“He’s a wounded candidate. So the question is whether or not Republicans will support him, even though he’s flawed, or will they actually vote for a Democrat,” Wright said. But it looks like in that race, there’s actually an independent or a libertarian running [David C Graham]. So, that more likely will help Roger Marshall.” 

For first-time voters, like first-year liberal arts student Maddox Cranford and first-year nail technology student Joshua LaRusch Jr., the ad pushing hasn’t been largely successful in swaying their beliefs.   

“I don’t find all the ad pushing useful, only because of the content inside the ads. I think political ads are important, but I don’t think it’s right to talk about opponents in an extremely negative light,” LaRusch Jr. wrote in a text message.  

Cranford speculates when the shift to more negative ads occurred.  

“I think there was a change, especially in COVID, where it would change from being information about the candidate that the ads are supporting to kind of a slander against the other candidate. I mean this in a non-biased way, but especially with Republicans, I feel the slander is worse, with slander supporting Adam Hamilton against Roger Marshall, with a lot of these ‘Roger Marshall sued his patients,’ and then it’s like against Adam Hamilton, ‘Hamilton lets in illegal immigrants, and he loves them,’ Cranford said.  

 Second-year business administration student Allyson Kempf believes that while they may be annoying, they are integral for recognition. 

 “I think it’s been pretty clear that people are tired of seeing ad campaigns, not only online, but with phone calls, junk mail, and I mean you can’t even drive down the street without seeing lawns covered in political signs. However, as annoying as it is, I do think that an immense amount of ad push is necessary and beneficial when it comes to marketing a candidate. Without it, a lot of voters may not even be aware of who’s on the ballot. Although it’s necessary, it is possible for ads to have a negative effect, where people end up associating the candidate with their annoying ads instead of the actual policies they’re promoting,” Kempf said.  

 Kempf also notes the presence of voter fatigue, which she has seen in classmates.  

 “I mean, I’m 19, and this is the first year that I’m old enough to vote, and it’s been really disappointing hearing from my peers who were either put off by the amount of campaign ads, or those who had wanted to vote but were unaware of the deadline to register because the deadline wasn’t what was being advertised,” Kempf said.  

 The Kansas Senate race shouldn’t be overshadowed by other key races, including for the governor, attorney general, and secretary of state (SoS). Democrat Cindy Holscher and Republican Ty Masterson also face off in their own Governor toss-up as polls shift from a  Republican-leaning outlook.  

 Associate Professor of Political Science and Chair of the Department of History and Political Science, Dr. Andrea Vieux notes the importance of the secretary of state position, especially its effect on JCCC.  

 “They direct county election offices and officers, oversee election security, and report election data. The county Election Commissioner is appointed by the SoS and determines early, in-person voting locations. This last year, the Johnson County Election Commissioner removed the JCCC early voting location without public or county commission input. So, the SoS position has real impact on JCCC students and their access to the polls. We used to be able to vote early on campus, now we can’t,” Vieux wrote in an email.  

The question of whether or not political advertising is beneficial or not holds a complex answer that is largely dependent on the strategies that the campaigns use. Ultimately, it comes down to consumers’ discretion. 

“Political advertising is fascinating for me as a political nerd, but I do think political advertising is an important part of elections, but the sheer volume of it does raise concerns about the effectiveness,” Easley-Giraldo said. “At some point, are you really persuading voters, or are you turning them off? And I think we have to be very careful about that, and I think we really need to study the sheer volume of it.” 

To prepare for Election Day or learn more about the candidates, consult nonpartisan websites including Vote 411 and Ballotpedia.