Candidates match voter records with sophisticated online tracking to target their ads. Are they going too far?
Many of the advertisements people see online today are customized. Using so-called browser cookies, advertisers can track a given Web surfers’ habits and serve them relevant ads.
This election year, a related type of targeted ads—one relying on “political cookies”—is coming into widespread use…
Most major campaigns this year will use cookie-based political advertising, says John Phillips, CEO of Aristotle International, which sells voter records combined with information like people’s hobbies and income brackets. Last week, Phillips announced a partnership with the online advertising firm Intermarkets that will let political campaigns select their online audiences based on more than 500 demographic and behavioral factors…
