Where Has all the Money Gone?

We have spoken a lot in class recently of the relationship between this years candidates and the millions of contributions that came into each of the campaigns, as well as sorted them into different demographics of contribution size. However, if one looks back on past elections the amount of money spent on presidential campaigns has doubled from 2004 and has increased 30 times when compared to 1976. What has changed so much since 1976 (minus inflation of course) that elections have become just so expensive?

I'd first like to propose that while technology has become much more accessible, it has not lessened the cost of a campaign ad. It has open up more fronts than existed in 1976. If a campaign ignored one of the fronts (i.e. the internet) the amount spent on a campaign would drop rapidly. As an example, if Obama would have ignored internet advertising completely, he would have saved a whopping 12 million dollars. Print media, another 14 million, this does not even include the staff that produces these things. Therefore, the increase of media fronts has increased the costs of a presidential campaign exponentially.

Secondly the cost of producing an eye catching ad has risen significantly. No longer can one set up a home movie camera, film the candidate speaking for 30 seconds or a minute and have a complete TV Ad:


It takes many more staff, resources, and highly advanced technology to produce the eye-catching, enthralling political campaign TV ad of 2008:

This one has voice-overs, flashes, advanced video-editing, and various banners throughout the video that increase the production cost of such an ad.

Thirdly, the increased competition in the media market has caused an increase in the cost of TV campaign ads. There is no longer just 10 or 15 channels that one can access from their home (and thus the candidate can advertise) as in 1976, but hundreds upon hundreds of channels that one can access from their satellite or cable television. This increases the number of areas in which a candidate must advertise. Any home can be watching any of these channels at any time, and the candidates campaign needs to be sure that at least some of their TV ads reach these homes of voters.

The increase of technology, while making access to each voter significantly easier, has increased the cost of a modern campaign. This is why, when one looks back to the amount of money spent in 1976 and compares that to today, one would find an increase of almost 30 times. This number will only go up over time, as the cost of accessing these new technologies increases, and the candidate has no choice but to use them.