Negative Messaging

According to Fridkin and Kenney, “negative campaigning is not uniform.”  The mechanics related to negative advertising are based on three criteria:
1.  The content of the negative message (issue driven vs. personality driven)
2.  The source of the message (who’s running the ad:  a candidate or an outside group)
3.  The characteristics of the citizens hearing the message (political novices)

Which of the criteria above is the most important factor as to how successful a negative message will be?

What Makes A Negative Ad…Negative?

Not all negative political ads have to be accompanied by the requisite gloom and doom music and grainy black and white photos of a candidate.  Take this ad, for example, run by an independent organization (independent expenditure) for a US Senate race in Utah.

What makes this ad, “negative”?