Ad Analysis: Week 2
Week two offered more mediums for candidates to get their message across to the NSL students, through outlets such as media ad space, face-to-face communication with the students, commercials, and the previous three ad spaces.
While some candidates took advantage of these new opportunities, others campaigns decided only to bid on the previous ad spaces, or not to bid at all. The previous largest spender, Max Gersch, paid no money for any ad space for week two. Gersch, going from 38 electoral votes in week one to 17 in week two, could see further decline if he is not able to to maintain some form of advertising throughout the rest of the election. Perhaps Gersch’s week one spending was simply ostentatious; now, he may not be able to maintain the same spending that he did in week one. This may prove more detrimental in week three if Gersch is unable to secure any more ad space, silenced by the larger spending of other candidates.
The Sylvester campaign also spent none of their campaign funds on ads in week two, nor did they purchase any advertising in week one. With funds exceeding most other candidates, Sylvester may be waiting to seize more ad space closer to the election date. Week one’s poll showed Sylvester having 28% of the vote, just behind Herscowitz’s 31%. Leading the Republican ticket, Sylvester may not need to spend large amounts of money on ads, rather her success may be derived from her ability to draw in the electorate with only her innovative ideology.
Perhaps in an effort to recover from her scandal, Herscowitz paid the largest sum of money for the largest board space in week two. Already the frontrunner, Herscowitz’s ability to secure this ad space has only bolstered her lead. Her assumed motive to recover from her scandal could also be proved to be achieved: in State Poll #2, no state cited the scandal to be the reason for their unwillingness to vote for Herscowitz.
Khan and Wenick both ventured to pay for the new ad spaces available in week two. Wenick was able to secure a pop-up media ad and a small board ad space, while Khan paid for a five minute face to face with the NSL students. Despite these ads, Wenick is still receiving similar complaints from states which refused to vote for him, New Mexico still citing his “belief that dinosaurs were mystical (sic) creatures,” as well as his vage policies (visit this article for further analysis). Khan, however, saw some success in week two, winning over states such as Texas, Idaho, and Colorado from his opponents.