It would take almost 14 days of eyes glued to the television to watch all the feel-good Hillary Clinton ads that have aired since the general election campaign began last month.
It would take almost 14 days of eyes glued to the television to watch all the feel-good Hillary Clinton ads that have aired since the general election campaign began last month.
Meanwhile, anyone flipping through the channels looking for positive ads about Donald Trump would be disappointed: He hasn't yet put up a spot appealing to November voters, and groups supporting him have been similarly silent.
The lopsided commercial airwaves show the presidential candidates have drastically different views of the importance of traditional political campaigning. Trump says he sees little need for advertising at this stage. Instead, he has been banking on free media coverage propelled by his celebrity appeal.
As a consequence, Trump has largely ceded control over what the voting public is hearing about him. Clinton's large batch of biographical ads has given her an opportunity to directly influence views about her image.
Up next is what amounts to an hour-long infomercial yesterday night in Cleveland, as Trump accepts his party's nomination during a speech that will be televised widely in prime time. Clinton has the same perk the following week from the Democratic convention in Philadelphia. After that, Trump's campaign has said he may begin advertising. That would be a dramatic change.
While Trump has aired zero ads, Clinton has been piping thousands of commercials into the homes of swing-state voters in places like Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and Virginia. Specific Florida markets such as Orlando, Tampa and Fort Myers have been favored targets, as well as Denver, for Clinton's ads.
Since June 8, the day after she claimed the Democratic nomination, Clinton has put at least 30,700 commercials on broadcast TV, an Associated Press review of Kantar Media's campaign advertising data shows. The majority highlight her work as first lady to expand health care for children.
"For Hillary, it's always been about kids," a narrator says in an ad called "Quiet Moments," which has run more than any other, some 11,400 times as of this week.
A 60-second spot called "Always" seems to spell out the reason for her ads. "She would grow up to be one of the most recognizable women in the world," a narrator says. "But less well-known are the causes that have been at the center of her life." The commercial rolls through milestones in her life, beginning with black-and-white footage of her toddling down steps.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Hillary Clinton")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}