Replication Data for Public Perceptions of Television and Online Political Advertising

For decades, television has dominated political advertising, but that is changing due to the rise of advertising online and on social and digital media. How do people view online political advertising, and how does this compare to their views of television advertising? To address these questions, we examine a nationally-representative survey of 1,200 U.S. adults that was fielded in February 2021. The survey contains a series of experiments in which the description of advertising (generic, television or online) is altered. We find, in general, that people view online advertising more favorably than television advertising. We also find that, in some instances, age influences views of advertising. This study provides some of the first evidence of how Americans view online political advertising. Understanding what people think about online advertising can shed light on the potential impacts of online ad exposure, such as persuasion and participation, and people’s attitudes toward online advertising should inform proposals for its regulation.

数十年来，电视始终主导着政治广告市场，但随着在线广告以及社交与数字媒体广告的兴起，这一格局正发生转变。人们如何看待在线政治广告？其与人们对电视广告的看法存在何种差异？为解答这两个问题，我们对2021年2月开展的一项涵盖1200名美国成年人的全国代表性抽样调查进行了分析。该调研包含一系列对照实验，实验中会对广告的类型描述（通用型、电视广告型或在线广告型）进行调整。研究总体发现，相较于电视广告，人们对在线广告的认可度更高。此外在部分场景中，年龄会对人们的广告观感产生影响。本研究提供了首批关于美国人如何看待在线政治广告的实证依据。了解人们对在线广告的看法，有助于阐明在线广告曝光可能带来的潜在影响，例如说服效应与公民参与度变化；而人们对在线广告的态度，也可为相关监管提案的制定提供参考。