Political Campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort to influence the decision making process within a group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referenda are decided. Political campaigns also include organized efforts to alter policy within any institution. Politics is as old as humankind and is not limited to democratic or governmental institutions. Some examples of political campaigns are: the effort to execute or banish Socrates Athens in the 5th century BC, the uprising of petty nobility against John of England in the 13th century, or the 2005 push to remove Michael Eisner from the helm of The Walt Disney Company.

The Cost of Campaign Advertising
Political campaigns have become heavily reliant on broadcast media and direct mail advertising (typically designed and purchased through specialized consultants). Though, virtually all campaign media are sometimes used at all levels (even candidates for local office have been known to purchase cable TV ads), smaller, lower-budget campaigns are typically more focused on direct mail, low cost advertising (such as lawn signs), and direct voter contact. This reliance on expensive advertising is a leading factor behind the rise in the cost of running for office. This rising cost is considered by some to discourage those without well-monied connections, or money themselves, from running for office.

Television advertising is the primary way that modern political campaigns communicate with potential voters. In a typical presidential, congressional or gubernatorial election, spending on television advertising comprises the greatest proportion of a campaign’s budget. To date, the lack of comprehensive data on the content, timing, volume and targeting of political advertising has limited what policy makers, journalists and scholars can report about the strategies employed by campaigns and the balance of advertising in particular contests. Furthermore, the lack of comprehensive data on advertising activity by parties and interest groups, increasingly active players in advertising campaigns, not only has limited what could be said about the activities of these crucial players but also has made it difficult for a complete picture of advertising activity to be drawn. Finally, the lack of comprehensive data on political advertising has made it difficult for scholars to study the effect and effectiveness of these communications. Put simply, without comprehensive data on the targeting, volume and content of advertising by all the players involved, it has been difficult to study the effect of the main persuasive tool utilized by modern electoral campaigns.