Schemer, C. (2010). Der affektive Einfluss von politischer Werbung in Kampagnen auf Einstellungen [The affective impact of political campaign advertising on attitudes]. Medien & Kommunikationswissenschaft, 58(2), 227-246.

The present study investigates the influence of political advertising on voters in the course of the political campaign dealing with the asylum law restriction in Switzerland in 2006. Based on data from a three-wave panel survey, the study analyzes the attitudinal impact of political ads that is mediated by positive and negative emotions. The results show that the advertising of the proponents of an asylum law restriction arouses negative emotions of voters (e.g., fear and anger towards asylum seekers). These negative emotions, in turn, increased voters' support of the asylum law restriction. However, political ads did not elicit positive emotional reactions. The study uncovers that affective influences of political ads do not only occur in the laboratory, but also in the naturalistic context of real political campaigns.