It's Political Season - Where's The Remote?

This year, candidates, PAC groups and “issue” advertising are expected to account for $3 billion. Yes, that’s billion. With a “B.” And, several sources say Americans will be bombarded with up to 4,500 messages each DAY in the last 30 days of the election cycle. Just the other night, every single commercial break in prime time was filled with competitive election ads. Many for candidates I’ve never heard of. So is it worth it? How can an average person make sense of so many messages simultaneously? The human brain can only process a limited number of messages; and the more commitment required by consumers, the more targeted advertising needs to be. Most mass marketing of political candidates appears to stem from a “spray and pray” mentality. If I shout louder than my competitor, I'll win. That argument used to hold water. But today, people are multitasking more during viewing and thus have more ways than ever before to tune out.