Political advertising continues at a breakneck pace. The tracking service AdImpact says $480.5 million has been spent so far in the 2024 election cycle. That is double the $240 million that was spent up until this point in the 2020 cycle. AdImpact data shows more than $27 million was spent during the last week of June and first week of July.
Based on current projections tied to ad reservations, AdImpact says the gap between the two years is likely to extend into the fall when primary ad spending is likely to accelerate.
Former President Donald Trump relied on free media during his 2016 run, and to a lesser extent in 2020. But as the 2024 campaign gets going, he is so far the biggest buyer of paid media. AdImpact says Trump has spent $20.2 million on ads to date. That tops Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ $14.8 million in ad spending, South Carolina Senator Rick Scott’s $10.8 million, and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum’s $4.3 million.
As would be expected, the early voting states are where the initial ad dollars are heading. AdImpact says $16.6 million has been spent in Iowa to date – 13% of that backing Trump. And in New Hampshire, it calculates $10.3 million has been spent, with one of every five dollars going to support Trump in what is expected to be a more competitive race for the former President.
Beyond the dollars spent, AdImpact is tracking how artificial intelligence will be used in the 2024 campaign. It points out in a blog post that AI has several applications for political ads, including content generation and the use of deepfake technology to use the voices of politicians and candidates. That includes the potential for “bad actors to use deepfakes” to mislead listeners. That prospect has led the American Association of Political Consultants to call on operatives not to use AI content. At its recent Pollie Awards & Conference last month, AAPC’s bipartisan Board unanimously agreed to condemn the use of generative AI “deep fake” content in political campaigns.
“The Board unanimously agreed that the use of ’deep fake’ generative artificial intelligence (AI) content is a dramatically different and dangerous threat to democracy,” said AAPC President R. Rebecca Donatelli. AAPC is also encouraging all media, advertising platforms, and delivery systems to refuse to carry or deliver ads using “deep fake” generative AI content.
Some states are also putting such a prohibition into law. In May, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a bill that will require political ads that use AI to disclose it to the public.
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