THE CANDIDATE’S GUIDE TO POLITICAL VIDEO ADVERTISING
What is in this guide?
Link | Description |
|---|---|
Why advertising matters | A brief introduction to advertising and what it’s an important tactic in your campaign’s strategy. |
What’s in a good campaign video ad | Details on the core components of an ad and how to prepare to build your own. |
How to build an ad using BattlegroundAI | An overview on the platform, a checklist to guide you through the process, and everything you need to get started. |
State specific compliance resources | Details on your state’s specific political advertising requirements if applicable. |
Who’s this for? If you're running for office - maybe for the first time - you’ve taken on one of the most important and demanding things you can do. No matter what office you’re running for, this guide explains why video advertising is non-negotiable in a modern campaign, what good ads look like, and walks you through producing your first one using BattlegroundAI. |
Part 1: Why advertising matters
Campaigns are won by reaching the right voters with the right message enough times for it to stick. While other channels are also valuable, they can be unreliable. Paid advertising and especially video is the one way you decide the audience, the message, the timing, and the frequency.
Voters may not know who you are yet, and a great place to find them is on their phones, tablets, or their living room TVs.
How advertising will help your campaign:
Introduce you to voters: Before anyone votes for you, they have to know you exist. Repeated exposure is how unknown candidates become familiar ones.
Clarify your values: If you don't tell voters who you are, your opponent will. The first impression usually wins.
Drive specific actions: Donations, volunteer signups, persuading undecided voters, or motivating your supporters to show up on Election Day. Every ad should have a job.
Expand your reach: You must meet voters where they are - on their phone, tv, or computer.
Lets smaller campaigns compete: You can have a big impact even with a small budget.
Why video, specifically
Key reasons video is the priority channel for most modern campaigns at every level:
More precision. You can reach target audiences in the locations and on the platforms where they spend their time.
Speed. News breaks in the morning, you can have a response ad in front of voters that evening.
Measurability. You know exactly what each dollar produced and the impact it had.
Cost efficiency: Even with just a few hundred dollars you can get your message out to voters and build visibility.
80% or more of political ad spend goes to video Political video advertising has become the largest category of campaign spending in the country. The candidates who win down-ballot races in 2026 will be the ones who understood that voters now expect to see candidates on screen — and made sure they were on the right screens, in the right neighborhoods, with the right message. Sources: Basis |
Part 2: What’s in a good political video ad
Target lengths:
Length | Best used for | Notes |
:15 | Name ID, Get Out The Vote (GOTV) | The dominant format. Highest completion rates. |
:30 | Persuasion, bio | The workhorse. Long enough to tell a story, short enough to hold attention. Most CTV inventory is built around this format. |
:60 | Longer bio, closing message | Reserved for higher stakes, big production budgets and needs to be highly engaging |
Video Ad Objectives:
Pick one per ad.
Introduction: Who you are, where you're from, what you’ve accomplished, and what you stand for. The voter walks away knowing your name.
Issue/ Persuasion: Why a specific issue or value they care about should move them in your direction. Stay on policy and record; avoid personal attacks.
Fundraising: Clear ask, reason, and next steps on how supporters can give money to your campaign.
Rapid response: News breaks, legislation passes, or a viral moment happens - content you can capitalize on quickly.
Get Out The Vote (GOTV): Creates urgency to vote by including date, times and even polling information to help ensure your audience turns out.
Key Components of an ad:
Script: Craft a structured, emotional argument to help introduce yourself and get the attention of voters. Your script should include a hook, a core problem, your story, vision for the future, and a clear call to action.
Visuals: Pull together images and videos of yourself, your family, your accomplishments, your community that help tell your story.
Branding: Fonts, colors, logo (if you have them). They should match what is on your website or other campaign materials.
Closed captions: Your video should have subtitles or closed captions so voters can read it when the sound is off.
End card: You’ll need an end card in your video that shows your face, name, call-to-action to leave voters with a clear impression.
Call-To-Action (CTA): Ensure you have a clear ask in your video and it appears on screen as well.
Format: Videos can be in horizontal (16:9) for a TV or YouTube, or vertical (9:16) format for social. Ensure your video is in the correct structure for the platform you are advertising on.
Compliance: Political candidate and campaign advertising is regulated by both the federal and state government. This will depend on what office you are running for and where you are running. General guidance here, means for each ad you are required to have a clear disclaimer “Paid for by… “ and have additional requirements depending on the location and platform you're using.
The compliance, you can’t miss Every political ad needs a paid-for disclaimer ("Paid for by [Committee Name]"). This must be clearly visible in your video ads. Other platforms like Google, Meta, also require advertiser verification for political content. Depending on your state you may also be required to adhere to additional, or different requirements. Failing to adhere to these regulations means your ads simply won't run, no matter how good they are. |
A few examples:
Here you can find nine historical examples of political ads over the years.
Here is an example of an ad created using BattlegroundAI’s instant generation platform
Part 3: How to build an video ad with BattlegroundAI
What is BattlegroundAI?
It is an ad-creation platform built specifically for political campaigns, advocacy groups, and other regulated advertisers. It was founded by campaign veterans and exists to give down-ballot and resource-constrained campaigns the kind of ad firepower that used to be available only to top-of-ticket races. The core promise: produce platform-ready, built in guardrails and compliance checks so you can develop ads in minutes instead of weeks, at a fraction of the cost.
Why use it?
Faster Speed: Campaigns using the platform have produced ad sets roughly 95% faster than human-only workflows.
Lower Cost: Campaigns reduced cost by up to 98%.
Trusted guardrails baked in: Disclaimers, platform-specific specs, and regulatory guardrails are built into the workflow.
Variation at scale: Generate dozens of creative variants, so you can test what works without paying for a dozen separate ad concepts.
Performance: Content has been rigorously tested and campaigns have seen 4 - 10% lift in vote choice with video created on the platform.
How to make your first campaign ad:
Below outlines the process to make your first ad. Expect the whole thing to take 15 - 20 minutes once you have your materials ready. Once you’re familiar with the platform you can make ads in 2 - 3 minutes.
Step 1: Gather your materials
Before you start using the platform, spend some time gathering materials and thinking through your content and write this all up.
Candidate name, office sought, district/jurisdiction
Your committee name as registered (for the disclaimer)
Your 3–5 top issues, with specific position on each
Headshot, logo, brand colors (hex codes), and any photos from the trail
Any recent polling, voter data, or messaging research you trust
Step 2: Create an account
Once you have your material you can get started building your first ad.
Go to battlegroundai.com and click “Get Started”
The platform is a monthly fee of $199/month, no contract required. This will allow you to generate up to 500 videos a month.
Once you’ve logged in and upgraded you’ll be ready to make your first ad.
Step 3: Create your ad
Log in and click the button that says [“+ New Ad”] and you’ll see this screen below to select “video”
You’ll then fill out the required fields end card text, call-to-action, disclaimer, fonts, colors, and headshot.
Select the video aspect ratio (horizontal for CTV) you need.
Select the type of content you want to use - custom assets will allow you to upload your own files.
Provide a script you want to use, ideally about 3 - 4 sentences in length for a 15 second ad, or create one instantly on the platform.
Select the voice over you want to use
Click generate! Your ad will be made in a few seconds for your review.
Play the ad to ensure you like it, or make a new version if you don’t.
Then click “Render” in the resolution that best matches your ad placement.
Get your ad up and running
While your ads will remain on the platform for reference, once you’ve downloaded them you can then get them running on your preferred ad platform. Reach out to your platform rep for further assistance or look into self-service options.
Important note You don't need to be a digital expert to run good ads — you need to be clear about who you're talking to, what you want them to do, and what makes you different. Tools like BattlegroundAI have closed most of the resource gap between you and a million-dollar campaign. The candidates who win down-ballot races in 2026 won't be the ones with the biggest budgets. They'll be the ones with the clearest message, deployed consistently, in front of the right voters. |
Part 4: Compliance requirements
Depending on your race, organization, and location you must adhere to the relevant political video advertising compliance requirements. The landscape of compliance is shifting, especially when it comes to AI . BattlegroundAI currently covers federal requirements. You can find state level AI laws detailed here.
For questions, or support please reach out to [email protected]
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