Round 1 of the Great Facebook Ad Showdown was a virtual blood bath between Donald Trump and Ted Cruz.

No love was lost.

In this Round 2 (of 3), we’re going to determine (from a marketer’s perspective) which Democratic candidate will come out on top: Hillary or Bernie.

They’re in the respective corners waiting for the bell.

Ding. Ding.

Let’s start with some numbers:

• Political ad spending is set to rise 20% from just four years ago to $11.4 billion.
• Digital media’s share of that is expected to top $1 billion for the first time.

That’s an incredible 5000% increase from just eight years ago in 2008.

If that’s not impressive, the American public consuming over 110 million hours of candidates on YouTube, which comes out to 100X the amount of content on CNN, C-Span, MSNBC, and Fox News combined, must be.

Round 1 Recap: Why Trump Beat Cruz

The Republicans ran a tight race (not really) that was decided by a hair (it wasn’t even close).

This hair, evidently.

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Let’s be clear though:

Despite Cruz’ personal appearance, his Facebook Ad campaigns were surprisingly professional and well polished. The ad creative was extremely good, run by some people who knew what they were doing. Unfortunately for him, Cruz ran into media juggernaut – playing some kind of perverse, judo, Jedi Mind Trick on major news networks everywhere into reporting on his every single move.

It’s like that whole Charlie Sheen thing, plus the time when Britney shaved her head, all rolled into one.

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The Don prevailed, despite some amateurish ads, in large part due to his larger-than-life persona and organic coverage. He successfully polarized the nation, riding the wave of popularity to success (for the time being).

We’ll see him again in the final in a few months as the election draws near.

But first, let’s find out who his competition for the highest office will be.

5 Political Social Advertising Examples: Hillary vs. Bernie Square Off

The Democrats have always been little ahead of the tech curve (in comparison to their counterparts).

The genesis was Dan Siroker’s appointment within the Obama campaign, which netted a cool $60 mil with a few A/B tests (ok there was a little more involved) within a few months.

The strength of these candidate’s Facebook ad campaigns should come as no surprise then. They’re both very good. No obvious rookie mistakes or grievances.

See for yourself.

1. Free SWAG

Ted had stickers. Donald took the Delorean back to the ’50s for some yard signs. And Bernie’s got stickers.

In his defense, though, the ad is great. The hero image manages to combine (a) what you’re gonna get, (b) why you’re trying to get it (in support), AND (c) clear CTA to show you how to get it.

Bonus points for the Robert Cialdini-esque scarcity ploy: “Last chance: get your sticker!”. Introducing scarcity not only urges people to move faster, but it also increases perceived value too.

Let’s see if Hillary can beat that.

It can’t be. No, wait, it is! Freakin’ Clooney!

Remember when Cruz had Rush in his corner?. And Trump had some no-name evangelist dude? Clinton just ad-shamed everyone with the #humblebrag of the year. Why is this important? Because the offer is everything.

Upgrading your offer, more than any other factor, correlates with the highest campaign conversions. And Clinton has Danny Ocean (2.0). Game. Set. Match.

2. Healthcare

For the most part, the Republicans steered way-the-hell clear of tackling any real issues through advertising. The Democrats, on the other hand, make them a focal point. (Does that say something about the people running? I don’t know.)

Bernie comes out of the gate strong, employing the PAS formula by highlighting the problem (high-quality, affordable health care), agitating it (e.g. “crisis”), and presenting the solution (his Medicare-for-all plan). The hero image supports this theme, asserting that Bernie is one with the people.

Only gripe? His supporting ad description under the hero image is too wordy, getting truncated to the point where you can’t really understand what it’s trying to say.

Clinton decides to fight fire with fire +1, using a multi-ad set to reinforce one common theme: credibility.

First, you see a fresh-faced Hillary that the copy confirms was over a decade ago. Her look is earnest, undoubtedly addressing the important issues at hand. You can then scroll to just a few years later, again working hard to hammer home her continued support of affordable healthcare.

These photos provide her with verifiable proof, valuable ammo that’s tough to compete against. It’s like social proof on steroids.

3. Personal Issues

On the back of two strong, issue-focused ads comes two more.

First up, Bernie tackles minimum wage. His controversial plan is to more than double the current rate from $7.25 up to $15 an hour, which has penny-pinching Scrooges everywhere grimacing.

Again, Bernie reinforces his down-to-earth narrative by literally showing he’s a man of the people (with a few different races for good measure). The ad’s language also brings the problem or pain point to the forefront, appealing to those who can empathize with supporting a family on low wages.

His plan is then summed up eloquently (and brilliantly) with the simple: A Living Wage. All that’s left is to hit that correctly used CTA to show support.

Speaking of empathy in advertising, Hillary nails her latest issue-focused ad with a hero shot that highlights exactly who she‘s trying to help (and appeal to): real women.

(Interestingly, the photos of faces you choose should be something worth testing — you know, with an awesome, user-friendly ad automation platform — as one study shows averted-gaze outperforms mutual.)

Hillary’s plan is to help protect our families, as we’re now a dual income nation, by making sure women are paid equally.

-1 for the truncated ad title though.

4. The Opt-In

These candidates need your support. That’s the underlying message of this latest ad set, encouraging their constituents to sign up, opt-in, and show their support in numbers. But they go about it in different ways.

Bernie uses poll numbers to engender the underdog mentality and rally the troops. This is the same trick used in professional sports and other contexts to summon almost superhuman strength.

The ad title (“We can’t fall just short”) supports the narrative, and the image once again positions good old Bernie as a friend or peer, as opposed to an untouchable, rich, liberal elitist (which he kinda is IRL).

Hillary uses a third-party enemy (namely, those crazy Republicans) to bring unity to defeat a common goal (even Bernie’s followers wouldn’t want those crazy Republicans!).

Everything else on this ad is on point. But my favorite is the image.

First, the aforementioned averted gaze, which the earlier study found can increase user’s retention of the information incidental to it. Next, is the directional cue arrow that shows you what to do. Brilliant.

5. Everyone Hates Trump

No really, they do. Which is good, because it gives Democrats one big, easy, orange, common foe. And according to Tufts, “In politics, it’s easier to unite against a common foe than toward a common good”.

Bernie gets things started with everyone’s favorite dinner party topic religion.

Religious inclusivity is one of America’s (few) redeeming qualities. And a survey from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that: “The relationship between religion and politics is particularly strong with respect to political ideology”.

Why does that matter?

Bernie‘s appealing to two extremely deep, intrinsic values that most Americans share. THAT’S how you fight inertia.

Not to be outdone, Hillary uses misogynistic comments by Trump (Who, this guy?!) as a rallying cry.

There are many things that men should NEVER comment on out of respect (and to avoid the wrath of a woman scorned). Weight and that time of the month come to mind. Also, abortions. Case in point:

And the Winner Is…

Both Democratic candidates have their Facebook advertising S-together. The slimmest of margins that could be decided by a coin flip.

However if we’ve learned anything up to this point, this stage of the competition is more a popularity contest than anything. Cue flashbacks to High School Prom all over again, crying in the corner ’cause no one wants to dance (No? Just me?!).

So despite Bernie’s feel-good factor and strong ad performance, I’m assuming Hillary gets the edge.

Which, if it pans out, cues up a Hillary vs. Trump finale in a few months time.

Regardless of how happy (or utterly depressed) that might make you, take solace in this…

No matter what happens a few months from now in November, no group stands to gain more from the popularity-fueled money-pit that is the General Election than digital marketers. 🙂