Where They Are Advertising: Clinton on Hallmark, Obama on ESPN

A couple months ago, I blogged about Sen. Hillary Clinton’s Iowa TV ad buy, which included spots on the Hallmark Channel (during, among other shows, Walker, Texas Ranger). Clinton remains the only candidate to appear on that network with any regularity, from what I have been able to observe.

But Sen. Barack Obama, not to be outdone, has had ads up on ESPN during Sports Center, that network’s flagship sports news broadcast, for the past few months. He is the only candidate whose ads have been seen on that show with any regularity, according to my crack team of advertisement watchers.

Obviously, the geographical targeting that cable allows might make the anecdotal evidence I have compiled here relatively useless. For all I know, outside a few viewing areas where my couch potato sources live, Sen. Mike Gravel could be going wall-to-wall on Walker (which would be hilarious). But ESPN and the Hallmark Channel are very different networks, and that each candidate is advertising on one and not really on the other could indicate their different demographic targets.