Millions are wasted
Millions of dollars are wasted on expensive political advertising. There's no good reason to believe it's effective. Often, the candidate with the most bumper stickers, yard signs, and TV commercials is not the one which wins.
And, why should they be? Voters are intelligent. They read.
Winners among candidates are the ones who appeal to the public through newspaper stories, interviews, and answer questions logically.
Millions of dollars are squandered in an effort that's fruitless to all except those in the TV business.
In Kansas this year we've seen political candidate advertising scheduled heel to toe on the tube, with one candidate's message immediately following the other. We've also seen commentary, by the station, attacking the veracity of political messages. Often the so-called "truth" message will be aired adjacent to the commercial in question.
If TV stations don't believe the message, why would the public? The candidate is wasting money.
The time has arrived to follow the example of the late Senator Proxmire from Wisconsin who spent no money on TV advertising. He made his message available to news coverage of all media. He answered questions. He didn't attack his opponent. And he won.
— BILL MEYER
