Campaign Communications « Digital Ads—Facebook (Pre-Primary and Primary, Jan. 2019-)

Digital Ads—Facebook (Pre-Primary and Primary, Jan. 2019-)

Increasingly people are viewing political ads not on TV but on their devices. Digital ads can be targeted with considerable specificity. There are many online advertising options including basic text ads, static display/banner ads, video ads, ads on Facebook and so forth. The challenge for campaigns and other groups is how to allocate resources among these options. One factor is the group's objectives for a specific communication, whether it be mobilizing voters, driving traffic to their websites, building email lists or fundraising.

Blog Ads [Display/Banner] | Paid Video [Digital Ads] | Facebook

This section considers Facebook ads run by the 2020 presidential campaign committees. As of early Jan. 2020, thirteen of the Democratic campaigns had invested more than $1 million in Facebook ads, led by the Steyer campaign at $15.5 million and the Buttigieg, Bloomberg, Sanders and Warren campaigns at more than $6 million each. Trump MAGA and the Trump campaign had spent more than $26.5 million on Facebook ads (see table below).

Facebook has come under considerable criticism for not doing more to police ads containing false claims (3). In addition to the content of the ads, campaigns also pay attention to the design of their ads; typically a campaign will produce many variations of an ad to appeal to different audiences and test which do best. One can see from the examples below that the call to action varies: buy tickets, learn more, sign up, donate now, learn more, shop now. A campaign can run the same ad over an extended period of time at the risk of it becoming stale, or it can produce a stream of new designs.

"To provide more transparency into advertising," Facebook now shows ads the campaigns are running. One can access these directly from the candidates' Facebook pages in the Page Transparency section, or from Facebook's Ad Library page. These archives are a bit unwieldy as they contain many ads with minor variations, but they do give a sense of the volume and themes of the advertising. For spending see Facebook's Ad Archive Report page, and the section "This week's spending by advertiser."

Cllick links above or ads below to go to Facebook Library.

Ads shown above are examples from 2019 and mostly from day of launch or soon thereafter.

Trump Leads Spending on FB Ads, While Steyer Dominates Democratic Spending
(Jan. 5, 2020) The Trump campaign is making a huge investment in Facebook ads; spending by Trump MAGA and the Trump campaign totals about $26.5 million thus far. Total spending by the Democratic campaigns well exceeds that number. Thirteen of the Democratic campaigns have invested more than $1 million in Facebook ads. The Steyer campaign has spent $15.5 million, more than twice as much on Facebook ads as any of the other Democratic campaigns; the Buttigieg, Bloomberg, Sanders and Warren campaigns each tally more than $6 million.

Top 5 Democrats
through 1/20: Steyer ($15,542,110), Buttigieg ($6,746,490), Bloomberg ($6,460,322), Sanders ($6,293,042), Warren ($6,181,061). Next is Biden at $3.5 million.

through 9/11: Steyer ($4,449,470), Sanders ($3,134,395), Gillibrand ($2,790,029), Buttigieg ($2,787,215), Warren ($2,510,114). Others at more than $1 million: Biden ($2,277,474), Booker ($2,268,493), Klobuchar ($1,867,037), Harris ($1,758,686), Castro ($1,721,545), Yang ($1,279,382).

through 7/20: Sanders ($1,890,610), Biden ($1,882,241), Warren ($1,772,779), Gillibrand ($1,708,699), Booker ($1,498,844). Others at more than $1 million: Castro ($1,158,033), Yang ($1,062,559), Buttigieg ($1,018,018).

through 5/18: Warren ($1,236,727), Harris ($1,210,202), Biden ($1,099,472), Yang ($851,106), Sanders ($850,061).

through 3/30: Warren ($637,163), Klobuchar ($551,434), Sanders ($550,252), Harris ($535,099), Booker ($361,868).

through 2/23: Warren ($308,056), Harris ($306,366), Sanders ($270,767), Booker ($240,955), Gillibrand ($176,521).

       Summary of Spending by Presidential Campaigns on Facebook Ads
         This chart uses a narrow definition of spending that does not include re-election committees, PACs or ads without disclaimers.
         see notes below

Committee [launch date]	Spending
from May 2018* to...	Feb. 23, 2019	Mar. 30, 2019	May 18, 2019	July 20, 2019	Sept. 11, 2019	Jan. 5, 2020
Bennet for America [05/02/19]			$180,921	$449,715	$877,963	$734,768
Biden for President [04/25/19]			$1,099,472	$1,882,241	$2,277,474	$3,508,707
Mike Bloomberg 2020 [11/24/19]						$6,460,322
Cory 2020 [02/01/19]	$240,955	$361,868	$491,498	$1,498,844	$2,268,493	$2,130,143
Bullock for President [05/14/19]			$58,577	$112,113	$242,636	$269,935
Pete for America (and expl.comm.) [01/23/19]	-	$15,666	$255,060	$1,018,018	$2,787,215	$6,746,490
Julián for the Future (and expl.comm.) [12/12/18]	-	$41,541	$396,061	$1,158,033	$1,721,545	$1,829,678
de Blasio 2020 [05/16/19]			$33,864	$25,258	$105,873	$105,873
Friends of John Delaney [07/28/17]	$27,400	$126,060	$151,004	$186,954	$220,269	$237,239
Tulsi Now [01/11/19]	$79,758	$66,858	$200,983	$229,664	$484,463	$892,002
Gillibrand 2020 (and expl. comm.) [01/15/19]	$176,521	$311,021	$497,041	$1,708,699	$2,790,029	$2,835,897
Kamala Harris for the People [01/21/19]	$306,366	$535,099	$1,210,202	$1,399,249	$1,758,686	$2,271,460
Hickenlooper 2020 [03/01/19]		$51,434	$108,293	$180,901	$202,149	$202,603
Inslee for America [03/01/19]		$138,050	$529,428	$726,431	$894,423	$894,423
Amy for America [02/10/19]	$75,028	$551,434	$806,989	$1,489,954	$1,867,037	$2,239,484
Seth Moulton for America [04/22/19]			$37,217	$205,490	$208,719	$208,719
Ojeda for President	-	-	-	-	-	-
Beto for America [03/01/19]		$296,083	$545,043	$708,576	$881,702	955,602
Deval for All [11/14/19]						$17,933
Tim Ryan for America [03/01/19]			$31,089	$40,769	$56,337	$58,130
Bernie 2020 [02/19/19]	$270,767	$550,252	$850,061	$1,890,610	$3,134,395	$6,293,042
Joe Sestak for President [06/22/19]				$121	$641	$641
Tom Steyer 2020 [07/09/19]				$420,143	$4,449,470	$15,542,110
Swalwell for America [04/08/19]			$9,831	$109,195	$109,195	$109195
Warren for President (and expl. comm.) [12/31/18]	$308,056	$637,163	$1,236,727	$1,772,779	$2,510,114	$6,181,061
Marianne Williamson for Pres. (and expl. comm.)	-	$45,085	$309,351	$485,170	$991,537	$1,166,334
Friends of Andrew Yang [02/02/18]	$15,536	$185,564	$851,106	$1,062,559	$1,279,382	$1,782,130

Trump Make America Great Again Committee	$6,276,373	$6,908,138	$7,708,429	$10,329,682	$11,844,082	$19,156,381
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.	$3,639,849	$3,906,832	$4,165,414	$5,125,324	$5,603,244	$7,480,271
Weld 2020 Presidential Campaign Committee (and expl. comm.)	missing	$5,639	$25,500	$25,510	$25,510	$25,510
Walsh for President						$84,107

*May 2018 is when the archive started. Thus the chart is thus missing some spending by Trump and by early announcers Delaney and Yang.

Sept. 11 exampes of what is not included above
Bennet does not include $250,599 by Bennet for Colorado.
Biden does not include $45,702 by American Possibilities PAC/American Possibilities.
Booker does not include $492,137 by Cory Booker for Senate.
Gillibrand does not include $78,929 w/o a disclaimer and $857,769 by Gillibrand for Senate.
Harris does not include $2,170 w/o a disclaimer and $1,256,425 by Kamala Harris for Senate.
Hickenlooper does not include $152,804 by GiddyUp PAC.
Klobuchar does not include $2,087 w/o a disclaimer and $67,698 by Klobuchar for Minnesota.
Moulton does not includ $1,347 w/o a disclaimer and $84,162 by Seth Moulton for Congress.
O'Rourke does not include $30,578 w/o disclaimer and $8.2 million by Beto for Texas.
Ryan does not include $25,857 by Tim Ryan for Congress.
Sanders does not include $238,085 by Friendes of Bernie Sanders.
Steyer does not include $5,619 w/o a disclaimer, $63,834 by Tom Steyer, and $4,429,705 by Need to Impeach.
Swalwell does not include $886 w/o a disclaimer and $38,048 by Swalwell for Congress.
Warren does not include $7,332 w/o a disclaimer and $781,272 by Elizabeth for MA.
Trump does not include $215,585 w/o a disclaimer.

de Blasio May 18, 2019 figure likely includes PAC.