In his newly revised and updated fifth edition, West continues his in-depth examination of political advertising in election campaigns. Following its evolution from 1952 to its use in contemporary races, West reveals how candidates plan advertising campaigns, how the media covers those campaigns, and, ultimately, how voters are influenced by these advertising efforts.

Taking into account the innovations of the 2008 Presidential campaign and new data, West offers significant updates, including:

• advertising strategies from the dramatic nomination fight between Clinton and Obama; 
• the face-off between Obama and McCain in the general election;
• material on ad buys, a review of issue-advocacy advertising, and content analyses of campaign ads; 
• case studies of ad appeals during both presidential and Senate campaigns;
• stills of ads aired during the 2006 and 2008 elections.

Darrell M. West is the Vice President and Director of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. He is the author of 16 books, including Digital Government: Technology and Public Sector Innovation and Digital Medicine: Health Care in the Internet Era.