How Russian Ads Became so Effective

In the Orange County Register, Newhouse Advertising Associate Professor Ed Russell explained how the crudely-designed social media ads brought by Russian operatives during the 2016 election managed to be so persuasive.

“The most important single thing in advertising is effectiveness. An ugly ad that works is better than the cleverest ad that may be wildly entertaining, but doesn’t work,” he said. “These Russian ads look very amateurish, but we shouldn’t be fooled; they are likely very effective. Looking amateurish lends to the sincere credibility of topics like patriotism, religion and racism.”