Democrats and Republicans will begin utilizing a new TV ad targeting system that uses voter records to send personalized campaign ads to the DVRs of about 20 million DirectTV and Dish Network customers.
"The DirectTV/Dish addressable advertising platform utilizes highly sophisticated and targeted technology that will allow political campaigns to specifically reach swing voters with TV ads," said Keith Kazerman, DirecTV's senior vice president of ad sales. "Campaigns can focus their message to a precise set of potential voters and eliminate the spending waste."
Simply put, the voting records of DirecTV and Dish Network customers have been sold so that politicians can send advertisements directly to their intended audience. Democrat, Republican, Independent, undecided, absentee -- whatever the circumstance -- DirecTV/Dish already knows. So how does it work?
The DVR will download the targeted ad while it is not in use. A cue will be sent by a politician, to play the ad at the moment of their choosing as if it were a normal commercial. Targeted advertising commercials only play while the television is being watched. The ads in question will be deleted from the DVR once election day has passed.
"We're not buying television shows anymore. We're buying lists of people. We don't really care about what program you're watching," said Andrew Bleeker, president of Bully Pulpit Interactive and leader of Obama's presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012. "This is one of the few things where political is really driving corporate in a really interesting way."
The ads are likely to achieve their intended goals but could also further splinter the country's polarized political discourse. Voters should have an opportunity to see the positions of candidates from both parties in a fair, balanced manner.
And furthermore, this move doesn't really help the unease that many Americans have about the government invading our privacy.
