# Have you ever been persuaded/swayed by an attack ad? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 7, 2018, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-persuaded-swayed-by-an-attack-ad/819230 "2018-08-07T14:23:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-persuaded-swayed-by-an-attack-ad/819230/21 "2018-08-25T01:42:05Z")
I rarely watch TV, so I have never seen one, but I doubt they would influence me. In the upcoming provincial election, I am so fed up with them all that I am planning to ruin my ballot, maybe writing “None of the above” on it. We still use paper ballots, but will be voting for just one office, member of the national assembly. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-persuaded-swayed-by-an-attack-ad/819230/22 "2018-08-25T03:06:24Z")
Attack ads are targeted at those voters without the time or inclination to do a lot of political reading and investigation on their own. They don’t affect my vote, since I read and investigate the candidates’ stances. But I think they can be effective for the masses, since the masses include lots of folks without lots of time or who don’t get enjoyment from reading politics. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-persuaded-swayed-by-an-attack-ad/819230/23 "2018-08-25T03:15:30Z")
Even worse with the love ads. I don’t care that you thought so and so is nice when you were in third grade or he was a good coach to your kids or something. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-persuaded-swayed-by-an-attack-ad/819230/24 "2018-08-25T03:20:46Z")
I have an extreme bias against political ads. They seem to be the most likely to distort reality, even more than product advertising. Therefore, I pay little attention to political ads, and automatically assume they are deliberately misleading no matter who the sponsor is. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-persuaded-swayed-by-an-attack-ad/819230/25 "2018-09-06T21:15:40Z")
No, as far as I can remember, I’ve never been persuaded to change my vote based on a negative ad. I’m not a big fan of JB Pritzker, but[this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8bPqzTW_N4) is one of the best ads I’ve seen in a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-persuaded-swayed-by-an-attack-ad/819230/26 "2018-09-06T21:20:31Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I have an extreme bias against political ads. They seem to be the most likely to distort reality, even more than product advertising. Therefore, I pay little attention to political ads, and automatically assume they are deliberately misleading no matter who the sponsor is. I hate the fakey concerned voices they use. Just talk to me like you’re not trying to scare a five year old, please. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2018, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-persuaded-swayed-by-an-attack-ad/819230/27 "2018-09-06T22:03:13Z")
No. I saw lots of attack adds about that Kenyan Muslim who was in the White House, and I didn’t need to be persuaded about things that were so obviously true! ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-persuaded-swayed-by-an-attack-ad/819230/28 "2018-09-07T00:31:08Z")
No because I never watch political ads. I watch shows recorded so I skip ads. I only watch sports live and they mostly have beer, truck, and viagra ads. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-persuaded-swayed-by-an-attack-ad/819230/29 "2018-09-07T05:44:15Z")
Really? Where do you live? I can’t watch a Cubs game without hearing about how Democrats Want To Take Your Tax Dollars And Throw Them Right Into A Paper Shredder For No Reason At All. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2018, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-persuaded-swayed-by-an-attack-ad/819230/30 "2018-09-07T06:13:49Z")
No, I’m pretty much always locked into a particular choice well before the ads start. I’d be most persuadable in local races, I guess, but those are never on TV since I don’t live in the large city in my TV market. The local paper has to pull teeth just to get them to fill out their voter guide, which is the only piece of campaign literature in most years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-been-persuaded-swayed-by-an-attack-ad/819230.md?page=1)