With election day less than two weeks away, advertising is at a fever pitch. To my friends who live in swing states, it’s time to bust out the TiVo, because you will need it if you are not interested in watching a barrage of political television ads.

Both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney campaigns, super PACs and party affiliates have each raised nearly one billion dollars this election. Think about that for a second. One billion dollars, and that does not include independent outside groups that support each candidate. Putting opinions on campaign finance reform and the Citizens United decision aside, that is a load of cash, and a huge percentage of it is being spent on advertising.

Most of the ad spends have been on television, which is not surprising, as television has long been the darling of political advertising budgets. Political campaigns and supporters favor this machine gun approach, however targeted online advertising has increased during this election cycle, too. Interestingly, several smaller media outlets are refusing to run political ads as part of a pricing dispute with ad exchanges.

We can’t talk about political outreach without talking about social media advertising. Social platforms certainly help spread the campaigns’ talking points and policy positions, however a recent UC Berkeley study indicates that social media advertising, particularly Facebook, has so far proven to be an ineffective medium to persuade someone to vote for a particular candidate. Watch Full Movie Streaming Online and Download

Without a doubt, the next week and a half is sure to be a wild ride from a marketing outreach and advertising perspective. Time to bring out the popcorn and enjoy the show.