So, what are those political ads buying?

There has been plenty of talk about how much the candidates are spending on advertising in this presidential election year, but what has been the actual effect of the ads?
 
Here’s the verdict. They have stoked the enthusiasm of likely Mitt Romney voters, but the president's ads have been more effective influencing undecided voters.
 
That's according to the research company Qualtrics and public opinion research company Evolving Strategies, which studied the effectiveness of this year's campaign ads among more than 2,300 independents and weak partisans (no strong affiliation to either party).
 
Ads for both Romney and Obama increase enthusiasm among likely Romney voters–those who voted for John McCain in 2008—and the Republican nominee's ads make it more likely that those who say they are going to vote for him will actually come out to the polls, because they are fired up.  

Enthusiasm among those who voted for Obama in 2008 was flat.
 
Meanwhile, President Obama's ads have been more effective in shifting voter preference.
 
The president's ads, according to the report, “increase the percentage of marginal undecided and wavering voters who prefer him.”
 
The very in-depth study also examines the effects of different themes within the ads and lays out which eight ads were examined in the report. To view more findings click here.
 

Tags: ads, advertising, campaign, Evolving Strategies, mitt romney, obama, political, political ad dollars, political ad spending, political ads, political advertising, political spending, President Obama, research, romney, study