Campaign 2012

It's political ad season in Montana

Posted: Oct 2, 2012 8:48 AM by Victoria Fregoso - MTN News

BILLINGS - Television, radio, mail and now on the Internet and smart phone apps. You name it, political ads are everywhere.

"It has evolved," said Dr. Craig Wilson, Political Science Professor at Montana State University in Billings. "Advertising goes back way into the 1800's. Obviously they didn't have mass media."

Millions of dollars have been spent on ads for this election since the beginning of the year, and over time the messages change.

Starting with a soft ad to introduce the candidate, then moving to an issue to let the public know where the candidate stands. And even more recent, negative ads, attacking the opponent.

"Many of the negative ads aren't run by the candidates' campaigns," Wilson said. "They come from the political parties or from outside groups who have millions of dollars sometimes to spend."

Even though these negative ads aren't favored by many, they're ran because people are listening.

"The reality is they're still used because they work."

Ads for the U.S. Senate and Montana governor races are dominating the air waves, leaving very little time for races like state auditor and secretary of state to be seen.

"I really wonder if we're going to see any ads at all this year because the air waves are taken over by the federal candidates and as you know, the federal candidates push aside other candidates and buy the time that's necessary."

So for now, you can expect to see and hear these ads via mail, phone, TV and internet until November 6th.