These are the 10 largest media markets (metropolitan area) listed by Nielsen.

New York (#1)
Los Angeles (#2)
Chicago (#3)
Philadelphia (#4)
Dallas-Fort Worth (#5)
Washington, D.C. (#6)
Houston (#7)
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (#8)
Boston (#9)
Atlanta (#10)

What American media market had the most ads in the 2016 presidential election?

statistic_id603950_top-10-media-markets-in-the-2016-us-presidential-race-as-of-august-by-ad-airings.png

How accurate was your prediction?
How surprising is this information?
Were any of these top presidential ad media markets in the top ten biggest media markets in the United States?
Based on the data in the chart make a claim about media markets and presidential campaigns.
Explain why the biggest spending in the presidential campaign happened in media markets, none of which are among the top ten biggest media markets in America.
What political science term do we use to describe American states that are very evenly split in terms of political party affiliation?
What is a consequence of all this ad spending happening in these particular media markets?
Imagine you were the campaign manager for the Donald Trump 2020 presidential election campaign make a claim about why spending in top markets like New York (#1), Los Angeles (#2), or Chicago (#3) would be a waste of money.
In the 2016 elections, U.S. House campaigns spent $971,524,520, and U.S. Senate campaigns spent $674,985,540. Using your knowledge of American politics, explain why more money was spent on U.S. House races than on U.S. Senate races.
Explain whether you think Senate or House campaigns are more likely to spend money in the top ten media markets?
The other day, a GoPo student we shall call Rudolph said, “advertising doesn’t really help campaigns. Democrats vote for Democrats and Republicans vote for Republicans. Respond to Rudolph’s claim using your inside voice.
In 2010, Citizens United v. FEC ruled that limits on political advertising were violations of the First Amendment guarantee of free speech. How has that ruling impacted American politics?
Let’s say you didn’t like the Citizens United ruling. What political action could you take to try to limit its impact?
Many democratic countries limit the amount of spending, veracity of content, and timing of political ads. Make a claim about whether the U.S. should place more limits on political spending?
How would banning political ads impact political campaigns and their results?
In general, what do Americans think about political ads?*
Of the following mediums (formats) which had the biggest spending in the 2016 election: newspaper, digital, broadcast TV, radio, cable TV, out of Home (whatever that means)?*
What has happened to the rate of digital ad spending over the past 12 years?*

*Visual Extension

statistic_id470711_us-presidential-election-2016---ad-spend(1).png

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Learning Extension

Read about the most expensive races in the 2018 election.

Action Extension

Make an advertisement (this could be a script, storyboard, digital image) for your favorite 2020 presidential candidate and share it in class or online.

Screen Shot 2019-08-30 at 12.53.33 PM.png

MediaOTUS

These are the 10 largest media markets (metropolitan area) listed by Nielsen.

What American media market had the most ads in the 2016 presidential election?

How accurate was your prediction?

How surprising is this information?

Were any of these top presidential ad media markets in the top ten biggest media markets in the United States?

Based on the data in the chart make a claim about media markets and presidential campaigns.

Explain why the biggest spending in the presidential campaign happened in media markets, none of which are among the top ten biggest media markets in America.

What political science term do we use to describe American states that are very evenly split in terms of political party affiliation?

What is a consequence of all this ad spending happening in these particular media markets?

Imagine you were the campaign manager for the Donald Trump 2020 presidential election campaign make a claim about why spending in top markets like New York (#1), Los Angeles (#2), or Chicago (#3) would be a waste of money.

In the 2016 elections, U.S. House campaigns spent $971,524,520, and U.S. Senate campaigns spent $674,985,540. Using your knowledge of American politics, explain why more money was spent on U.S. House races than on U.S. Senate races.

Explain whether you think Senate or House campaigns are more likely to spend money in the top ten media markets?

The other day, a GoPo student we shall call Rudolph said, “advertising doesn’t really help campaigns. Democrats vote for Democrats and Republicans vote for Republicans. Respond to Rudolph’s claim using your inside voice.

In 2010, Citizens United v. FEC ruled that limits on political advertising were violations of the First Amendment guarantee of free speech. How has that ruling impacted American politics?

Let’s say you didn’t like the Citizens United ruling. What political action could you take to try to limit its impact?

Many democratic countries limit the amount of spending, veracity of content, and timing of political ads. Make a claim about whether the U.S. should place more limits on political spending?

How would banning political ads impact political campaigns and their results?

In general, what do Americans think about political ads?*

Of the following mediums (formats) which had the biggest spending in the 2016 election: newspaper, digital, broadcast TV, radio, cable TV, out of Home (whatever that means)?*

What has happened to the rate of digital ad spending over the past 12 years?*

*Visual Extension

Learning Extension

Read about the most expensive races in the 2018 election.

Action Extension

Make an advertisement (this could be a script, storyboard, digital image) for your favorite 2020 presidential candidate and share it in class or online.