“Call Jim Talent” … “Call Jean Carnahan” You’ve heard those “call to action” lines at the end of many political commercials. They’re called issue ads, and they’re usually taken out by the other side’s political party. Both the Democratic and Republican parties in Missouri agree the main goal of the ads are not to get people to call. Since the party can’t buy ads telling voters to vote for its candidate, they use the issue ads to highlight differences. Some might believe having the party attack their opponent keeps their hands clean, but Bill Benoit who studies and teaches political campaign communication at the University of Missouri says voters don’t see a difference. And, Benoit says often the more negative an ad is, the better impact it has with voters.
