A new study released March 25 by the Wisconsin Advertising Project found that Sen. John Kerry's recent television advertising campaigns have become more negative in their message, similar to President Bush's campaign ads.

Some Penn State students said candidates should use their own views to bolster their advertising campaigns and not talk negatively about the other candidates actions or motives.

According to the Wisconsin Advertising Project, done through the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Bush's initial campaign was quite positive. However, the ads became more critical during earlier primaries in other states. "There's no partisan difference," said Joel Rivlin, the project's deputy director. "Candidates that are behind tend to go more negative, and candidates that are ahead tend to be more positive."

Chris Hampton (senior-comparative literature) said negative ads could both help and hurt the candidate running the ad campaign, and he thinks candidates should focus on areas other than negative attack ads. "I think their time would be better spent boosting their own position rather than tearing down their opponents," Hampton said.

Ray Marsh, director for Penn State development communications, said voters might be turned off by negative campaign ads. "They need to portray the candidate in a favorable light to the electorate they're trying to attract," he said.

Democratic Party chairman Terry McAuliffe told The Associated Press that even though Bush's negative ads may hurt Kerry in the short run, voters will get tired of the ads over the long run.

Josh Goldblatt (senior-religious studies and journalism) said he thinks there are disadvantages to running a negative campaign. "Sometimes there's that perception that you only have bad things to say about the candidate and nothing to say about yourself," he said.

Hampton mentioned one of Bush's ads, a 1920s-style car commercial, that attacks Kerry's position on gas prices, and said he thinks it is not effective in getting its message across to voters.

"I felt the message was lost in the silliness of [the ad]," Hampton said.

Robert Baukus, head of the Penn State department of advertising and public relations, explained the role of negative ads. "The intent of a negative campaign is not to immediately change your opinion of the candidate. Your perspective on how you analyze things starts to change," he said.

The Wisconsin Advertising Project found that 100 percent of Kerry's general election ads and 78 percent of his current primary ads referred to Bush negatively. It also found that Bush ran mostly positive ads and used negative attacks on Kerry 27 percent of the time.

Rivlin said running a negative advertising campaign could be risky. "There's a gamble in running negative ads. Your own supporters may be turned off," Rivlin said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.