Air Wars: Television Advertising and Social Media in Election Campaigns, 1952-2012

Tracing the evolution of political advertising, Darrell M. West returns with his much anticipated sixth edition of Air Wars: Television Advertising and Social Media in Election Campaigns, 1952-2012. Integrating the latest data and key events from the 2012 campaigns, West provides in-depth examination and insight into how candidates plan and execute advertising campaigns, how the media covers these campaigns, and how American voters are ultimately influenced by them. Taking into account technological advances, West now includes discussion of how campaigns are utilizing social media tools to reach audiences and to what effect.

The sixth edition offers significant updates, including:

• The face-off between Obama and Romney in the general election;
• Case studies of ads during presidential and Congressional campaigns;
• The ever increasing use and impact of social media;
• Ad stills from the 2012 campaign; and
• Concrete examples of which ads worked and which ads did not.