Zipping through the grocery store the other day I spotted a lovely display of candy corns. I thought they looked super yummy but then I remembered that it's 90+ degrees outside and that seasonal delectableness shouldn't hit my mouth for a few more months and perhaps about 30 degrees cooler. This got me thinking about the debut of my brand new "seasonal" political demo and the use of female voice talent in political ads. In my quest for knowledge on the subject I found that men voiced more than double the number of political ads in 2010 & 2012 compared to the number of ads voiced by women (journalistsresource.org). However, John Greer, a professor at Vanderbilt University who studies political advertising, says that both male and female voices can each be effective but in different ways. "In the old days, most people considered a man's voice to be more authoritative and believable, and it can be." Now, he says, more and more candidates have turned to women reading the scripts because they often have calmer and more credible voices. "A lot of voters will say to themselves, 'Well, if a nice-sounding woman is saying this to me, it must be true'." (newsweek.com).
