The analysis shows that the campaign voicemail gaffe helped to push Brown’s name past Republican Meg Whitman’s in both national online buzz  and in on-air television mentions in California’s top media markets. It had been at least 10 days since Brown led his opponent in either category, but the negative exposure was certainly not the way the campaign would have liked to take the lead.

The drama occurred during a week where both campaigns significantly stepped up their overall ad buys. Whitman aired  3,727 ads across California’s top four media markets last week, 51 percent more than her total during the previous week. Brown, meanwhile, aired 2,804 ads in the same markets, a 60 percent increase over the previous week.

In other campaigns across the nation:

• While Republican Carly Fiorina made a serious move in the advertising battle last week, Democratic incumbent Barbara Boxer still ran more ads overall. Boxer continues to receive good news in polling results for the California Senate race, driving positive online buzz.
• Alex Sink’s gubernatorial campaign in Florida ran only five total ads in Jacksonville and was silent in Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and West Palm Beach. Rick Scott, meanwhile, blanketed the airwaves with almost 1,400 total ads. But ads bought and aired by the Florida Democratic Party helped to balance out Scott’s message on the airwaves.
• While the latest public polls appear to be in Democratic Governor Martin O’Malley’s favor, Republican Bob Ehrlich accelerated his advertising buy last week as the campaign enters its final month.
• In Pennsylvania’s U.S. Senate race, Republican Pat Toomey increased his advertising lead last week over Democrat Joe Sestak. Support from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is driving negative discussion about Toomey on-air, and help from the White House is propelling Sestak’s climb in online buzz.

Download Nielsen’s Campaign Media Analysis for more details on these and other contentious midterm political races.

If history is any guide, Democratic presidents are associated with larger box office sales growth.  From 1980 to 2007, box office sales grew by 2.8%, on average, during Democratic administrations, while average sales growth under Republican administrations was just 1%, according to research released Monday by Nielsen PreView.

Overall, in the past three decades, movie sales have grown almost three times faster during Democratic administrations than during GOP administrations, according to Nielsen.

The entertainment industry may be facing tough times regardless of which party takes the White House in January.

According to a recent Nielsen study, 56% of consumers said they are likely to reduce their discretionary entertainment spending, as they seek ways to reduce expenses. 

Spending on travel and clothing may also take a hit — 51% and 41% of consumers surveyed by Nielsen plan to cut spending on those respective items.  In contrast, healthcare and housing spending were least likely to be reduced by consumers — just 9% of respondents said they will cut expenditures in those areas. 

View Nielsen PreView’s full report.

Cast your vote to help guide Nielsen PreView’s future political research. 

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