Cumulative and Long-Term Campaign Advertising Effects on Trust and Talk

Most studies of political advertising have failed to consider that advertising effects may build up across multiple election seasons or extend past Election Day. This study investigates the short-term and long-term effects of both same-cycle and multi-cycle exposure to campaign advertising on political and social trust and modes of political talk. Using survey data and campaign advertising data, we test the effects of ad volume and ad negativity. We find effects of both same-cycle and cumulative exposure to advertising. Some are fleeting effects, but the majority of them are sustained or sleeper effects, emerging long after the campaign has ended. These results suggest that scholars should extend their focus beyond same-cycle effects measured during or just after a single campaign.