Corbett, Wolf resort to sticks, stones to attract attention

It takes four seconds for the satire to sink in, before viewers realize the family man seated at a kitchen table and speaking in favor of higher taxes shouldn't be taken seriously.

“It says here Tom Wolf is gonna raise the income tax on middle-class families,” he says, newspaper in hand. “It's about time somebody does.”

The woman seated beside him chimes in: “We just have way too much money.”

So begins one of the more cutting advertisements in the race between Republican Gov. Tom Corbett and Democratic challenger Tom Wolf, a contest in which one study found more than 60 percent of commercials were considered “negative ads.”

Analysts from the Wesleyan Media Project found among all gubernatorial races this year, nearly 51 percent of commercials had a negative tone, up from about 39 percent in 2010.

In the Corbett-Wolf matchup, 62.3 percent of ads aired from Sept. 26 through Oct. 8 were deemed negative, the seventh highest among those measured. Campaign finance records filed Friday show Wolf spent about $6.7 million from mid-September through Oct. 20, leaving about $3 million in his war chest. Corbett spent $4.4 million and had $3.2 million on hand. The figures include all spending, but TV ads typically consume a major chunk of campaign resources.

Jeffrey Sheridan, Wolf's spokesman, said his messages are aimed at clearing the record from “flat-out lies” by the Corbett campaign. In general, Wolf's advertisements aim to contrast Wolf's proposals and Corbett's policy record, Sheridan said.

Sheridan said Corbett's first attack ad against Wolf came out before the May primary.

“He's not laid out a vision for a second term,” Sheridan said of the governor.

Some of the increase in negative ads is attributable to the rise of outside spending groups, said Travis Ridout, a co-director at Wesleyan and political science professor at Washington State University. Beyond that, he said, they can work.

“Some negative ads can be quite effective,” he said. “If they're memorable or something interesting, if they create a narrative the news media picks up, that can be really effective.”

Political ads come in types: They can highlight a candidate's message, attack his or her opponent, or contrast policies. But effective ads come down to a competition for audience attention, a task that's become more difficult than in past election cycles, said John Brabender of BrabenderCox consulting firm, the architect behind Corbett's ad campaigns.

“Struggling to get the attention of the typical viewer has increased dramatically,” he said. “Getting that viewer's attention early on in the ad is increasingly critical.”

In addition to competing with other commercials, advertisers increasingly compete with “second screens.” Nearly half of smartphone owners use their devices while watching TV every day, according to Nielsen in June 2013.

The challenge becomes taking a creative approach without crossing the line, Brabender said. The satirical ad used a “ridiculous premise on the surface” — Pennsylvanians who want to pay more in taxes — to catch viewers' attention.

“They got the message, but we didn't insult their intelligence in the process,” Brabender said.

On Friday, the Corbett campaign released a Halloween-themed ad, in which a chainsaw-wielding actor flanked by horror movie characters from “The Shining,” “The Ring” and “It” says Wolf's tax plan “scares people who scare people for a living.”

Corbett said his ads point out that Wolf won't provide details of his income tax proposal.

“I don't view that as negative. That's factual,” Corbett said.

Corbett said he thinks negative ads improve his chance of winning. Voter polls for months have indicated that Corbett trails Wolf by a double-digit margin.

Wolf released at least two ads that begin with a reference to Corbett's negative commercials, including responding to the premise that his policies would increase taxes on the middle class. In one released in August, Wolf spoke straight to the camera from a suburban front yard.

“Have you seen Tom Corbett's ads attacking me? Get real,” Wolf says. “It's Tom Corbett who's been sticking it to the middle class on taxes.”

Wolf segues into criticizing Corbett's education funding policies, another leading issue in the campaign.

Negative ads likely will continue as the election approaches, Ridout said. In some cases, they may spark interest and cause voters to read up on the candidates, he said. Or they could breed disinterest.

“If you're a voter and you've already decided you support a particular candidate, then you see a bunch of ads beating up that candidate, it's not going to make you change your vote,” Ridout said. “But it might make you more likely to stay home on Election Day.”

Melissa Daniels is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-8511 or mdaniels@tribweb.com.