by Jaileen F. Jimeno
ACCORDING TO AC Nielsen, the top 12 ad spenders this year had a total bill of P1.6 billion. Some candidates have questioned the figures, saying they received a considerable amount of discounts. But no one is denying that they did pay sizeable amounts for their ads, and that they paid almost immediately.
by Jaileen F. Jimeno
MONEY CAN’T buy you love — or votes, as some politicians who spent big on ads have found out.
Indeed, only four of the 12 biggest spenders on ads for the recently concluded midterm elections have made it so far in the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) ‘Magic 12’ for the Senate. Two more from the list of those with deep pockets (as drawn up by the market research, information, and analysis company AC Nielsen) still have slim chances of sneaking into the Upper House at the last minute, but that means they spent a total of P242.9 million just to get to the bottom of the winners’ list.
by Vernon R. Totanes
SUPPORTERS of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo spent more than P22 million in advertisements in major Manila dailies in the period of just three-and-a-half months since the “Gloriagate” crisis began.
But was it money well spent? Public-relations and advertising experts on both sides of the political divide agree that it is unlikely the ads changed many people’s minds. They were mainly a show of strength.